Key facts
- Companies with the highest AI spending grew employment by roughly 10% and entry-level hiring by 12%.
- Firms with low AI spending saw no significant employment gains.
- AI adoption is concentrated in information, finance, and professional services.
- AI adopters were already larger, faster-growing, and more technical companies.
- The study analyzed over 21,500 U.S. companies between 2021 and early 2026.
A study by financial operations platform Ramp, in collaboration with labor market analytics firm Revelio Labs, analyzed AI spending and employment data for over 21,500 U.S. companies between 2021 and early 2026. The findings suggest that companies making the largest investments in artificial intelligence are expanding their workforces, challenging the narrative that generative AI is currently driving widespread white-collar layoffs.
Firms with the highest AI spending intensity saw employment grow by approximately 10%, with entry-level hiring increasing by about 12%. In contrast, companies with low AI spending experienced no statistically significant employment gains. The study found that these hiring gains emerged gradually over six to 12 months, indicating a period required for AI integration into workflows before productivity benefits are realized.
Researchers cautioned that companies adopting AI were already larger, faster-growing, more technical, and more likely to be venture-backed prior to deployment. The report noted that AI adoption remains concentrated in knowledge-intensive industries, with information companies showing the highest rates, followed by finance and professional services, while sectors like hospitality and healthcare lagged. The study defines adoption as three consecutive months of at least $100 in AI vendor spending.