JFF research highlights AI's disproportionate impact on early-career workers and points to the need for greater employer support

BOSTON, March 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- In a marked shift from a year ago, workers are now more likely to say AI is a net-negative than a net-positive when it comes to finding jobs, building wealth, and securing their quality of life, according to a new national survey released today by national nonprofit Jobs for the Future (JFF). The survey, conducted by AudienceNet in late 2025, also found that early-career workers are more likely to feel AI's impact on their jobs compared to those with more experience. In addition, just over one-third of workers say employers are providing the training, guidance, or opportunities they need to use AI in their jobs, a drop of almost 10 percentage points.

The new research builds on a 2024 JFF survey, which found that a plurality of workers—defined as anyone employed—said AI did more good than harm across society. In the new survey, the sentiment flipped; more workers now say AI does more harm than good. Optimism about AI's impact on workers also fell by 10 percentage points. In the 2024 survey, nearly half of respondents felt somewhat or very optimistic about the impact of AI on workers. In the new survey, only about one-third of workers (39%) say they feel optimistic.

"As it becomes ubiquitous in our working lives, AI still has the potential to help more people access quality jobs, practice new skills, and build sustainable livelihoods," said Ben Pring, Vice President of JFF's Center for Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Work. "But the new survey shows growing concern about the pace of AI adoption and a clear gap in employer support. Workers want to be part of the transition—and we risk widening gaps if they are not given the tools and voice they need to engage."

According to the American Job Quality Study (AJQS), a groundbreaking report released last October by JFF, Gallup, the Families & Workers Fund, and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, workers who report having a lot of influence over how tech tools like AI are used in their workplace are more than twice as likely to report high job satisfaction as those who say they have no influence. Despite the strong link between job satisfaction and worker agency, the AJQS found that few employees have a meaningful say in tech decisions. JFF's new research on AI reinforces this finding: 56% of workers surveyed say their employers have not consulted them about how AI tools are used in their work.

Additional key findings from the new survey include:

• Despite increased AI adoption, most workers say employer training has not kept pace.
  • Just 36% of workers now say they have the training and resources they need to use AI in their jobs, down sharply from 45% a year ago. Access to training remains uneven: workers without four-year degrees are less likely than workers with four-year degrees to have received AI training at work (31% vs. 37% overall), and women without four-year degrees are even less likely than men without four-year degrees (34% vs. 42%) to have received AI training at work.
    
    
• Early-career workers are more likely to be changing career plans.
  • Early-career workers are more likely than more experienced workers to say AI has made it more difficult to get a job (27% vs. 25%), with workers with <1 year of experience reporting the greatest difficulty (39%). Early-career workers are much more likely to report changing or considering changing career plans due to AI (40% vs. 19%).
  • Some 3 out of 4 early-career workers say AI is changing their jobs (74%), compared with 64% of more experienced workers.
     
• Workers are shifting away from content generation toward new uses of AI on the job.
  • Reported uses of AI for research (41%), learning and training (38%), and innovation (37%) increased by at least five percentage points from 2024 to 2025, while the use of AI to generate content dropped from 37% to 31%.
     
• Workers increasingly recognize shifting skill needs and the need to upskill.
  • Overall, 47% of workers report a need to acquire new skills due to AI's impact, including 29% who say they need to acquire new skills within the next year. Only 7% of workers say AI is not significantly changing the importance of any skills, down sharply from 42% a year ago.
  • The need to adapt is felt more acutely among workers of color: 38% report planning to change their career pathway due to AI (vs. 23% of all workers), and 44% say they need to gain new skills in the next year (vs. 29% of all workers).
     
• Beyond work, AI concerns are rising—and sentiment has shifted toward the view that AI does more harm than good.
• • In the 2024 survey, respondents were more likely to say AI was doing more good than harm across society when it comes to finding jobs, building wealth, and securing quality of life. In the 2025 survey, 44% of respondents say AI is doing more harm than good, compared to 38% who say it is doing more good than harm.
  • Around half (49%) of women say AI is doing more harm than good, while only 33% say AI is a net-positive for finding jobs, building wealth, and securing their quality of life.

The new survey was conducted by AudienceNet between November 28 and December 8, 2025, with 3,020 respondents aged 16 and above. JFF's first survey of workers' and learners' perspectives on AI was conducted between November 20 and 27, 2024, with 2,754 respondents aged 16 and above. To ensure a robust data set, both surveys oversampled JFF's focus populations—people without a four-year degree, people of color, women, and people with a record of arrest, conviction, or incarceration—who are often underrepresented in AI-related research. The data was weighted to reflect each group's share of the U.S. population using the latest Census benchmarks.

JFF has developed resources for workforce and education practitioners, employers, investors, and policymakers to take steps to ensure that AI improves job quality, supports economic advancement, and expands opportunity. To learn more and access additional survey findings, visit JFF's website.

About Jobs for the Future (JFF)
JFF transforms U.S. education and workforce systems to drive economic success for people, businesses, and communities. www.jff.org.

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SOURCE JFF