AI's growing impact on Minnesota job seekers revealed in new survey

By
CareerForce
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More than a third (34%) of CareerForce Staff and Partners who responded to the most recent Job Search Experience Survey said their job seeking clients’ employment or job search had been affected by Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the past three months. This is up from 23% who responded similarly in the last Job Search Experience survey in July 2025. 

An increasing number of CareerForce staff and partners report serving clients who lost jobs or are seeking new employment due to AI. In the January 2026 survey, 35% of job counselors responding to an optional open-ended question on AI impacts noted a range of effects on their clients’ employment. These included job seekers who attributed their job loss to AI, as well as individuals whose work requirements changed because their employers adopted AI—prompting them to look for new jobs. By comparison, in July 2025, 29% of responses to a similar optional question mentioned AI-related impacts on clients’ employment.

Here are some comments from CareerForce staff and partners from the January 2026 survey about their job seeking clients' experience:

  • "It is harder to obtain employment because many of the functions in the clients' former work have been assumed by AI."
  • "One client stated AI replaced her and her entire team."
  • "I have spoken to a large number of people in IT that say AI has affected their job and as a result were laid off."
  • "Many entry level engineer positions taken over so new grads are having trouble finding jobs. Many existing marketing positions also more hard to come by."
  • "Some were laid off due to reorganizing of their position but later revealed the company implemented AI tools to answer calls or provide customer service."

 

AI does seem to be playing a bigger role in the daily work of U.S. employees. According to a recent Gallup survey “the percentage of U.S. employees who reported using AI at work at least a few times a year increased from 40% to 45% between the second and third quarters of 2025. Frequent use (a few times a week or more) grew from 19% to 23%, while daily use moved less, ticking up from 8% to 10% during the same period.” 

 Similarly, the percentage of job postings requiring AI skills is increasing, according to 2025 research from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, which found that:

  • In 2024, nearly 628,000 job postings in the U.S. demanded at least one AI skill.
  • The percentage of all job postings that require at least one AI skill increased from about 0.5 percent in 2010 to 1.7 percent in 2024.
  • The demand for AI skills varies by education: job postings that require at least a bachelor's degree are more likely to require an AI skill than postings that require an associate degree or high school diploma.
  • AI skill demand is increasing for occupations that require at least an associate degree, growing from 0.4 percent in 2010 to 1.4 percent in 2024. This demand growth is mostly concentrated in Computer & Mathematical occupations.
  • In 2024,12.3% of Computer & Mathematical job postings required AI skills.

Many CareerForce Staff and Partners say that clients they serve have had their job search impacted by AI. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of responses to the optional open-ended AI question on the January 2026 survey revealed impacts like employers using AI-powered applicant tracking systems to screen resumes and job seekers using AI tools to help with writing resumes and cover letters.

The most recent Job Search Experience Survey closed on January 16 and was completed by 279 workforce development professionals who work directly with job seekers in Minnesota. Of those 279 workforce development professionals, 91% (253) of the respondents have worked with job seekers for at least a year and were invited to complete the survey questions that required a year-over-year comparison. The Job Search Experience Survey is conducted online twice a year.

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oo Career Seekers (Shaqo Raadis ah)