U.S. — Ramp and Revelio Labs published a study on Tuesday indicating that U.S. companies with high AI spending increased both overall workforce headcount and entry-level hiring. The study tracked AI spending and workforce records of nearly 22,000 U.S. companies between January 2021 and February 2026.

According to the findings, firms that increased their AI spending expanded their workforce headcount by an average of 10% in the two years following the technology's implementation. Additionally, companies making the largest investments in AI saw a 12% increase in entry-level job hiring. These early and intense AI adopters spent more than $100 per month per employee on AI and utilized advanced AI tools, such as coding subscriptions.

Conversely, the study found that low-intensity, casual AI adopters did not experience hiring gains and, in some cases, reduced their headcount. Ara Kharazian, lead economist at Ramp, commented on the study's implications for new graduates. "If you are a job seeker, or you are graduating from college, and you're choosing between two different firms that are otherwise similar, I would choose the one that's using AI," Kharazian said. He added, "Our paper shows that that firm is going to grow faster."

A November 2025 Stanford University study, which examined payroll data across the labor market, showed that employment among young software developers had declined by nearly 20% from its late-2022 peak. The California AI-unemployment tracker indicated that unemployment insurance claims among college-educated workers in high-AI-exposed jobs, including customer service and software development, rose after ChatGPT's release in 2022 and remained elevated through May 2026. This tracker observed that unemployment claims among master's and PhD holders in highly AI-exposed occupations increased from a baseline average of 13,000 claims per month in November 2022 to between 16,000 and 22,000 claims per month since mid-2023. These job loss claims were largely concentrated in the technology sector, with a higher rate of unemployment insurance claims in the San Francisco Bay Area compared with the rest of California. The tracker also found that a large portion of these unemployment claims were from workers aged 36 to 65. Tech companies let go of over 160,000 workers in 2026, according to trueup.io.

Why It Matters

The study by Ramp and Revelio Labs introduces data challenging the narrative that AI adoption universally leads to job displacement. Its focus on hiring patterns in companies with major AI investment provides a counterpoint to other reports indicating job losses, particularly in the technology sector. This suggests that the impact of AI on the workforce may depend on the intensity and manner of its integration into business operations.