Report: AI May Increase Headcount in Some Companies
A new survey by ZipRecruiter suggests over a third of recruiters believe AI will increase job numbers at their companies. This comes as many firms have recently reduced staff, sometimes citing AI.
While many companies, such as Visa and PayPal, have recently reduced their workforces, partly citing the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), a new report from ZipRecruiter offers a different perspective. In a survey of over a thousand recruiters and hiring leaders, nearly 35% stated that AI is expected to increase headcount at their company in the near future.
Over a quarter of respondents indicated that hiring due to AI had already increased. Almost a third reported that AI had accelerated their recruiting process. Even if overall headcount doesn't change dramatically, 32.5% believe the nature of jobs will shift due to AI in the next three to five years.
In comparison, only 16% reported actively hiring less due to AI, and a mere 14.4% planned to reduce headcount in the coming years. However, the importance of AI skills in the job market has grown substantially; nearly three-quarters of respondents considered them a significant advantage or requirement for certain roles.
The report does note, however, that certain tasks, such as data entry and processing, are particularly susceptible to being automated by AI. Nearly 40% of employers had already reassigned such tasks to AI, increasing the bar for entry-level candidates. Differences in perception were also noted between genders, with male respondents more likely to believe AI will create jobs.