The panic about artificial intelligence stealing jobs has become self-perpetuating. Tech executives announce layoffs citing AI as the reason. Workers worry their roles will vanish within months. Yet the data tells a starkly different story: most organisations worldwide are actually hiring more than they are cutting, even as they deploy AI across operations.
A sweeping global survey of 2,050 business and technology leaders provides the clearest picture yet of how AI is reshaping the workforce. 77% of organisations are experiencing increased hiring compared to 46% experiencing role reductions. Among companies that have seen both hiring and cuts, 69% say the overall effect of AI on the workforce has been positive.
The survey, conducted by Snowflake in collaboration with Omdia between August and September 2025, spans 10 countries including Australia and New Zealand at 12% reporting the majority of their unstructured data is AI-ready. It reveals a labour market in flux but not in freefall.
The transformation is profound, however. Nearly half of all code, approximately 48%, is reported to be AI-generated, highlighting how deeply the technology is embedded in day-to-day workflows. 82% are reporting improvements in code testing, bug detection, and resolution, and 80% citing gains in overall code quality. These are not modest increments; they represent fundamental shifts in how technical work is performed.
The Real Crisis: Skills and Governance
But the surface numbers mask a deeper problem. While organisations are hiring, they're struggling to find the people who can actually manage AI systems responsibly. The issue is not mass unemployment; it is a profound mismatch between what organisations have deployed and what they have trained their workforces to do with it.
Governance failures loom largest. 57% of employees, including 66% of C-level leaders, report using nonapproved AI tools, while 60% say their organisations need greater investment in data infrastructure and monitoring software. This is not a minor compliance problem. Companies are racing to embed AI into core operations while their risk controls lag dangerously behind.
The data readiness challenge compounds the difficulty. Only 7% say more than half of their unstructured data is actually AI-ready. Organisations have the algorithms but not the foundation to deploy them safely or effectively. Data readiness and governance will determine how effectively organisations can scale it.
Counterarguments from those who see job growth as a net positive have substance. Historical technological shifts have often followed similar patterns: initial panic followed by job reallocation. Occupations most exposed to AI automation are actually outperforming the rest of the labor market in terms of job growth and real wage increases. This suggests AI may be amplifying productivity rather than simply replacing workers.
Yet this optimism assumes smooth workforce transitions. The evidence shows uneven impact. Entry-level jobs have higher exposure to AI, with generative AI adoption reducing entry-level hiring especially when tasks can be automated. Early-career workers face steeper headwinds than their senior counterparts.
The Path Forward
The challenge for Australia and internationally is structural. Organisations cannot simply train their way out of governance gaps. New roles are emerging; those who can oversee, audit, and ethically deploy AI systems will be in genuine demand. But the transition requires deliberate investment in both skills development and institutional safeguards that most organisations have not yet made.
The Snowflake data points to a more honest conclusion than either utopian or apocalyptic narratives allow. AI is not eliminating work. It is changing the nature of work faster than most organisations can adapt to. That creates genuine hardship for some workers and real opportunity for others, depending largely on access to training and the willingness of employers to redesign roles rather than simply lay people off.
The real story is not whether AI will take jobs. It is whether organisations and governments will invest the enormous effort required to guide this transition responsibly. So far, the answer appears to be no.