Consulting firms, law offices, and accounting businesses added jobs in October despite widespread concerns that artificial intelligence would eliminate white-collar positions, according to a November 7, 2026 report in The Wall Street Journal. Professional and business services grew by 70,000 positions in October—the sector's strongest monthly gain since July 2022. The hiring surge complicates predictions that AI would quickly become a job killer for knowledge workers, fears that influenced voter behavior in this week's elections.
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services expanded payrolls by 17,300 positions in October compared to the prior month, while legal services grew by 2,400 jobs and accounting and related services added 2,300 workers—all industries frequently identified as highly vulnerable to AI disruption. However, newly published September data reveals sharp losses in specific niches: document-preparation services slashed employment 17% year-over-year, telephone call centers and public-relations agencies each cut 4.7%, and advertising agencies reduced staff by 3.9%. Year-over-year comparisons show law offices up 1.9% and management consulting up 1.4%, while PR agencies, call centers, and document preparation all declined. Meanwhile, the AI infrastructure boom created demand elsewhere—employers in nonresidential construction and specialty trade contractors added a combined 10,800 jobs, driven largely by data-center projects where monthly spending climbed nearly 80% since the start of the year even as other nonresidential construction dropped 4% over the same period.
Harvard economist David Deming said in the report, "I don't know how you could look at this report and conclude that we're entering anything like a white-collar job apocalypse." Preston Mui, a senior economist at nonprofit macroeconomic-research group Employ America, characterized the data as showing minimal evidence of sweeping losses among higher-paid white-collar positions, stating: "It's not the bloodbath among knowledge workers that a lot of people had feared. At least not yet." Deming also noted that AI's capabilities remain limited, explaining, "It turns out AI is broad but not that deep. Until it can do the entirety of someone's job, it's hard to plug it in to totally replace a worker."
The report explains that many economists view AI as a particular danger to entry-level, repetitive tasks—call-center operators, data-entry staff, junior copywriters—which lend themselves to automation, while higher-skill white-collar roles could actually benefit if the technology boosts their productivity. Lawyers, for instance, might dedicate less time to document preparation and more to client advisory work, potentially increasing demand for their services. According to Cory Stahle, an economist at jobs site Indeed, employers are shifting their requirements: "They're leaning in to experienced workers and AI skills. What we're seeing are employers adding additional requirements." The report also notes that economists have struggled to identify concrete proof of widespread AI-driven job losses, partly because many tech companies overhired during the pandemic and began workforce reductions around ChatGPT's November 2022 launch—meaning layoffs blamed on AI may actually stem from management errors. Industry-level data can also mask changes in specific occupations, since figures group workers by employer industry rather than individual job function, allowing companies to eliminate administrative roles while hiring in other areas.
Data-center construction offers another employment channel tied to the AI expansion, with a July study by Indeed finding that job postings mentioning data centers more than doubled between June 2024 and June 2026 even as overall postings fell roughly 12%, with approximately one-quarter of data-center postings targeting installation and maintenance workers. The largest data-center construction sites keep thousands of workers employed for years, though the facilities hire far fewer people once operational. The report also highlights a tension in workers' perceptions—many employees feel the job market remains difficult because companies are reluctant to either hire aggressively or conduct layoffs, making it harder for people to enter the workforce or advance to better roles. For tech executives navigating this transition, the absence of immediate displacement doesn't eliminate the pressure to rethink hiring strategies as capabilities evolve. Companies that defer workforce planning until automation reaches full-job replacement may find themselves caught between overstaffed legacy roles and unfilled positions requiring hybrid technical skills.