Gallup Survey: Tech Workers Using AI Monthly Face 6 % Layoff Risk vs 18 % for Less Frequent Users

Tech workers who use artificial intelligence at least monthly face a substantially lower risk of job loss than colleagues who use the tools less often, according to new Gallup research. U.S. workers, including 660 respondents who reported being unemployed after their jobs were eliminated, produced the estimates.

Among tech workers who use AI at least monthly, the predicted probability of being laid off is about 6 percent. Among those who use AI less often than monthly, the predicted probability rises to 18 percent. Gallup collected data on how often both employed and displaced workers used AI, from daily to not at all, then applied a statistical model to estimate how AI-use frequency and industry related to job loss.

The link between AI use and job security remained after accounting for age, education, and sector. Outside the tech industry, infrequent AI users also showed higher layoff risk than peers, though the gap was smaller. The findings suggest employees who do not use AI are more vulnerable in the job market, the researchers said.

Only about 1 percent of laid-off workers attributed their job loss directly to AI. The most commonly cited reasons were organizational restructuring, cost-cutting, and economic conditions. Jim Harter, chief scientist for Gallup’s workplace management and wellbeing practices, said the low direct attribution surprised him.

“They didn’t just blame AI,” he said. The data may understate AI’s indirect influence on layoff decisions, the researchers said. Explanations such as restructuring may reflect AI’s role in internal decisions even when workers were not told AI influenced the outcome.

AI was the top reason companies cited for job cuts last month, accounting for about 40 percent of such announcements, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. Harter said it remains unclear exactly how AI factors into job-cut deliberations. Workers who use the technology more frequently may simply complete more work, or employers may track usage metrics such as the number of chatbot prompts per week.