Goldman Sachs Says AI Will Displace 15 Million US Workers

Joseph Briggs, who leads Goldman Sachs Research's global economics team, said on the bank's Exchanges podcast that AI will displace approximately 9% of the US workforce. That is almost 15 million workers.

The displacement is already visible in the data. In sectors where AI tools are actively in use, including tech, management consulting, and graphic design, Briggs estimates AI is reducing monthly employment growth by 10,000 to 15,000 jobs.

Briggs' argument about what it means is more nuanced. He pushed back directly against what he described as a fixation among tech leaders on jobs destroyed while ignoring jobs created.

"If we look back over the last 80 years, around 85% of job growth has been driven by the technological creation of new positions," he said. The US labor market creates and destroys roughly 30 million jobs annually, a churn rate large enough, Briggs argued, that even a modest acceleration in job creation would be sufficient to reabsorb the workers AI displaces.