A new Goldman Sachs report analyzing past technology waves warns AI-displaced workers face potentially steep economic pain

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Why it matters

Goldman Sachs released a report on April 6, 2026, analyzing 40 years of labor market data from over 20,000 workers since 1980, warning that AI-displaced workers face prolonged economic hardship, including a 3% average pay cut upon reemployment, 10 percentage points less real earnings growth over a decade compared to non-displaced workers, and higher unemployment risk, with effects worsening during recessions.[1]

Goldman Sachs analysts, including those from its Global Economics team, authored the report, building on prior estimates of AI displacing 7% of US workers or 300 million jobs globally over 10 years, with recent US impacts in tech, knowledge, and creative sectors like management consulting and design.[1][3][5]

The report draws context from historical technology waves (e.g., automation, ICT), where displaced workers endured "scarring effects" but could mitigate losses via retraining, yielding 2% higher wage growth and 10% lower unemployment over 10 years; AI accelerates this amid ongoing job cuts slashing US payroll growth by 16,000 monthly.[1][2][7]

Newsworthy now due to fresh longitudinal evidence of AI's outsized wage penalties versus past disruptions, amid visible layoffs and AI adoption surges, highlighting policy needs for retraining as infrastructure jobs (e.g., 500,000 for data centers by 2030) emerge but mismatch displaced knowledge workers.[1][3][5]

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