Apollo Economist Says AI Is Restraining Wages More Than Jobs

Artificial intelligence may be reshaping the labor market without producing an immediate decline in headline employment. Apollo Global Management’s chief economist argues that companies can absorb the technology through slower pay increases, redesigned roles and productivity gains. That makes wage growth a potentially earlier and more sensitive gauge of AI-related disruption than payroll totals or the unemployment rate, particularly for workers with less bargaining power.

Recent research found that wage growth among occupations with greater exposure to AI lagged that of less-exposed jobs by 6.7%, with the effect especially pronounced among lower-income workers. The findings point to pressure on earnings rather than broad job destruction. At the same time, AI has helped fuel record new-business formation by lowering barriers to launching and operating companies, suggesting the technology is suppressing some wage gains while also stimulating entrepreneurial activity.