AI boom, job gloom: White-collar roles facing the disruption

A World Bank report released recently noted that there has been 20 per cent drop in job listings in white-collar jobs. This has been seen South Asian economies.

The report pointed out that the most vulnerable jobs are the white-collar ones due to rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). Meanwhile, more jobs are getting created in the AI space as higher job listings indicate.

The report said that between January 2023 and March 2025, AI-related job listings went up to 6.5 per cent of all listings as compared to 2.9 per cent earlier. India has been at the forefront of new AI-related job listings. Cities like Bengaluru and Hyderabad have seen maximum listing of jobs, followed by Pune and Chennai.

Though India’s labour market is less exposed to AI-related developments, most entry-level jobs in the corporate sector are witnessing AI-led disruptions.

Interestingly, the report found out that medium enterprises are more exposed to disruptions led by AI than big corporate houses. These findings are crucial for India, which has one of the highest numbers of people in the working age.

If AI-related developments are affecting the entry-level jobs more, then it points towards a worrisome trend. Lakhs of students spend huge amount of capital to get higher education in India. If they are not able to get jobs after passing out from colleges, then the Indian job market will be depressed.

It not only will force people towards under-employment, but also will push young mass towards many undesirable activities. Against this backdrop, all stakeholders should focus on the upskilling part of employees to make the job relocation less painful. India has been at the forefront of global IT services industry.

The $290 billion-strong Indian IT industry employs around six million people directly. It generates lakhs of jobs through indirect ways. So, if the AI-related developments create job losses, Indian job market- both formal and informal- will be hit.

We have already seen AI impacting job market in the technology industry. Many companies including TCS have laid off part of their staffers due to skill mismatch. Reports from engineering colleges indicate that most big IT firms are giving campus recruitment a miss so far. As entry-level jobs get displaced due to automation, engineering graduates are facing an uncertain future.

In this perspective, urgent reskilling of technology workers is the need of the hour. Government agencies, private sector enterprises and academic institutions should map the skill gaps and upskill the students and professionals in necessary AI skills.

Education has to be directed at that way where jobs are getting created. This way, displaced staffers can be easily absorbed in new jobs that are relevant in the AI era. Leaving people to market forces can create havoc in the job market, which will have negative repercussions for the Indian economy.

While upskilling is happening at a fast pace, the job mapping is not happening at a desirable speed. Companies should anticipate where the new jobs will be created and train people accordingly for lowering the pain of disruption. Such futuristic approach will help all stakeholders.