- Professional and business services added 70,000 jobs in October, its biggest monthly gain since July 2022, with consulting, legal and accounting firms all hiring despite their AI exposure.
- Some roles are shrinking, with document preparation down 17% over the year to September, and economists say entry-level, repetitive jobs face the most pressure from AI.
- Data center construction is a bright spot for hiring, with spending up nearly 80% this year, though completed facilities employ far fewer workers than they take to build.
Hiring in professional and business services jumped by 70,000 in October, the largest monthly gain since July 2022, which eased AI job fears, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The gain helped drive Friday’s jobs report, which came in stronger than expected.
Get Smarter about what matters in CRE
Stay ahead of trends in commercial real estate with CRE Daily – the free newsletter delivering everything you need to start your day in just 5-minutes
White-Collar Jobs Hold Up
Management and technical consulting added 17,300 jobs, legal services 2,400 and accounting 2,300. Economists often rank all three among the sectors most exposed to AI.
Harvard economist David Deming told the Journal the report shows nothing close to a white-collar jobs apocalypse. Preston Mui of Employ America said knowledge workers aren’t facing a bloodbath, at least not yet.
Where Jobs Are Falling
Not every white-collar field is safe. Employment at document-preparation firms dropped 17% over the year through September. Call centers and PR firms both shed 4.7% of jobs, and ad agencies lost 3.9%.
Economists see entry-level, repetitive work as most at risk, while higher-skill jobs could gain if AI boosts productivity. Overhiring after the pandemic also muddies attribution, since many tech layoffs started around late 2022.
Data Centers Hire
AI is also creating work. Builders of nonresidential projects and specialty contractors added 10,800 jobs, including electricians wanted at data center sites. Residential builders cut 16,400.
Data center construction spending is up nearly 80% since January, per the Commerce Department, while other nonresidential building is down 4%. Indeed found postings that mention data centers more than doubled from June 2024 to June 2026.
Zoom Out
Office-using employment drives leasing, so the data matters for landlords. We covered Census Bureau figures showing AI adoption slows even as it concentrates in knowledge sectors, with 21.7% of businesses using AI by July.
Why It Matters
Steady hiring in consulting, law and accounting could support office demand from tenants that are often seen as AI-exposed. But the Journal notes large data center sites employ thousands during construction and far fewer once running.
Politics could change the equation. The Journal says voters backed Democrats critical of data center building, a theme we flagged in our look at Texas data center policy.
What’s Next
Watch entry-level hiring data for early signs of AI displacement, and whether new state or local limits slow data center construction jobs.
