Gartner predicts AI will create more jobs than it eliminates, driving a net increase of 1.7 million jobs globally by 2030, with a net 1.5 million (89%) coming from the tech sector alone.
In a new report revealed at the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2026 in Barcelona, the firm said AI will generate 10.6 million new jobs, while eliminating 8.9 million jobs globally by 2030.
Helen Poitevin, distinguished VP analyst at Gartner, said the job growth is indicative of organizations viewing AI as “a catalyst to reinvent operations and rebalance workforce and technology capabilities to compete in changing markets”.
She said software and services have already passed the line where they're creating more jobs than are being eliminated.
“We see a much steeper line – up to 2 million jobs gained and about 402,000 jobs lost – going forward that are attributable to AI.”
Despite recent mass layoff at several companies creating anxiety about job security in tech, Poitevin said only 1.8% of rol-es in the sector will actually be eliminated by AI.
While traditional “computer programmer” positions are declining, demand is surging for software and AI engineers who can manage AI and orchestrate agents to achieve a solution.
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“[Companies] need people who can.. scale [AI] safely and towards the right goals, and monitor to make sure that they are continuing to work towards those goals.”
Poitevin said it’s actually an area of opportunity for those with computer science skills who may see a decline in traditional coding jobs.
“You need to either be more specialized in a particular domain,” she advised. “What language you can code in matters less than how well you're able to work through that business problem to software solution flow.”
Infrastructure build-outs take the edge off ‘jobs chaos’
Although Gartner is primarily seeing “chaos” around new jobs and newly configured roles, Poitevin said growth is also being seen in physical infrastructure driven by AI investments.
“As you build out those data centers and that physical infrastructure, you have a secondary growth factor on the employment of people who are building, and then maintaining, that infrastructure.”
Immediate friction is falling hardest on entry-level workers, however. Gartner said over five million people worldwide are expected to experience delayed hiring as enterprises defer jobs under the assumption that AI can fill workforce gaps.
Poitevin said that because expectations of AI capabilities outpace reality, companies will eventually face rounds of “corrective hiring” as employees tackle increased workloads.
By identifying employees most at risk, she said leaders “can put in place the strategies necessary to support those individuals”.
The findings from Gartner align with previous research on the impact of AI on the global workforce.
Analysis from the firm in late 2025 projected that roughly 32 million jobs a year will be “reconfigured, redesigned, or fused by 2028”.
Speaking to at the time, Gartner said while this transition will create disruption, it won’t equate to an all-out “jobs apocalypse” predicted by some industry stakeholders.