LinkedIn data shows AI isn’t to blame for hiring decline… yet

The first StrictlyVC of 2026 hits San Francisco. Tickets are going fast. Register now. Save up to $680 on your Disrupt 2026 pass. Ends 11:59 p.m. PT tonight. REGISTER NOW. TechCrunch Desktop Logo TechCrunch Mobile Logo LatestStartupsVentureAppleSecurityAIApps EventsPodcastsNewsletters SearchSubmit Site Search Toggle Mega Menu Toggle Topics Latest LinkedIn data shows AI isn’t to blame for hiring decline… yet Sarah Perez 11:51 AM PDT · April 15, 2026 LinkedIn’s Blake Lawit, the Chief Global Affairs and Legal Officer of the Microsoft-owned professional networking site, confirmed in an interview at Semafor’s World Economy summit this week that the company’s data shows a decline in hiring of around 20% since 2022. However, he pushed back at the idea that AI was to blame. “At LinkedIn… we have an economic graph which is over a billion members. We’ve got companies, jobs, skills. It’s really an amazing real-time view of what’s happening in the labor market. And we’ve looked — because everyone wants to know the answer to this question: Is AI impacting jobs right now? We’ve looked and, honestly, we haven’t seen it,” he said during his interview. Instead, the executive suggested that the decline in hiring was more closely tied to a rise in interest rates. “We have not seen the sort of impacts that you would expect to see in areas that everyone is talking about AI… like industries, whether or not it’s customer support, or administrative, or marketing — all these places that if we were seeing impacts [from] AI that’s where it would be,” Lawit continued. “Yes, hiring’s down, but not down more,” he added. Lawit also noted that LinkedIn’s data didn’t indicate that the decline in hiring of college-aged young adults getting their first jobs was “down more,” either, when compared with people who were in the middle of or later in their careers. Still, he didn’t rule out that things could change. “Doesn’t mean it’s not going to happen in the future, but not yet.” On that point, however, Lawit had a warning of sorts. Lawit noted that over the last several years, the skills that are needed to do the average job have changed 25%. With the rise of AI, LinkedIn expects that figure to be 70% by 2030. “So, even if you’re not changing jobs, your job’s changing on you,” he said. Sarah Perez Consumer News Editor April 30 San Francisco, CA StrictlyVC kicks off the year in SF. Get in the room for unfiltered fireside chats with industry leaders, insider VC insights, and high-value connections that actually move the needle. Tickets are limited. Most Popular An Amazon warehouse worker died on the job at Oregon facility Amanda Silberling Stanford report highlights growing disconnect between AI insiders and everyone else Sarah Perez Sam Altman responds to ‘incendiary’ New Yorker article after attack on his home Anthony Ha Anthropic temporarily banned OpenClaw’s creator from accessing Claude Julie Bort France to ditch Windows for Linux to reduce reliance on US tech Zack Whittaker YouTube Premium and YouTube Music are getting more expensive Aisha Malik This founder helped build SpaceX’s most powerful rocket engine. Now he’s building a ‘fighter jet for orbit.’ Tim Fernholz X LinkedIn Facebook Instagram youTube Mastodon Threads Bluesky TechCrunchStaffContact UsAdvertiseCrunchboard JobsSite Map Terms of ServicePrivacy PolicyRSS Terms of UseCode of Conduct OpenAIIranGas PricesTeslaAppleTech LayoffsChatGPT © 2026 TechCrunch Media LLC.