Apollo chief economist says there’s ‘zero evidence’ AI is killing jobs—in fact, he says it’s creating them

Major employers from Block to Amazon have attributed their shrinking workforces to new efficiencies in the tech revolution ; and even JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon warned that leaders “shouldn’t put their head in the sand” as AI comes for jobs. However, Torsten Sløk, chief economist at Apollo Global Management , is adamant that “there is zero evidence of job losses because of AI.”

Sløk pointed to ADP employment data as evidence, concluding that the AI spending frenzy is “stoking both employment and inflation.” And thanks to the tech boom, he even believes that nonfarm payrolls in May—accounting for all U.S. workers excluding agriculture laborers, private household staffers, non-profit employees, and government professionals—could come in higher than the 95,000 jobs that are generally predicted.

The economist says this is the Jevons paradox taking shape: cheaper technology generates more demand and work for humans. This idea contrasts with the notion that AI could be a money-saver as opposed to employing a legion of human staffers, who come with costly salaries, benefits, and PTO. Instead, Sløk believes this tech revolution only increases demand for human beings—albiet, ones with AI skills who can help drive the business into the future.

“Instead, many firms are hiring AI implementation experts,” Sløk said in a recent blog post . “And the data center buildout is putting upward pressure on salaries for AI experts and on prices of semiconductors, equipment and energy.”

Ever since ChatGPT stepped onto the scene in 2022, workers have been hand-wringing over the fate of their careers—all while leaders have stoked fears with alarming predictions.

In 2025, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei claimed that AI could eliminate 50% of white-collar jobs; and last summer, OpenAI chief Sam Altman said that entry-level work was threatened by automation. Leaders have reinforced that narrative by whittling their workforces in the name of AI.

Earlier this year, the cofounder of payments firm Block announced that the company would lay off nearly half of its workforce, impacting about 4,000 staffers. Jack Dorsey explained in an X post that the cuts are directly tied to the company’s AI implementation: thanks to efficiency gains from the tools, the $45 billion business will employ “smaller and flatter teams” moving forward.

And this trend has been picking up steam for years; in late 2023, Klarna also decided to halt hiring as AI brought newfound productivity. At the time, the fintech company boasted around 4,500 staffers—and after letting natural attrition run its course at a rate of 20% of workers leaving each year—the workforce was whittled down to 3,500 by 2024. Klarna said it has saved about $10 million annually using AI for its marketing needs, cut back on in-house lawyer time, and optimized its communications roles. And the company’s CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski , has doubled-down on this broader workforce shift—even if his peers won’t be honest about it.