Why Finding a Job in Australia Will Be Tougher in 2026 (It's Not AI)

Australians will find it harder to get a new job in 2026, but it's unlikely to be due to artificial intelligence, even as it changes how they work.

A new Deloitte Access Economics quarterly report shows AI is starting to impact the national workforce, but it is not leading to widespread job losses. Instead, based on a study of 82 roles dubbed "AI-disrupted jobs" due to not needing human judgment, empathy or interpersonal skills, Deloitte found employment was still rising in these sectors.

Deloitte Access Economics partner David Rumbens said so far AI had not taken Australians jobs. "(There is) limited evidence of widespread job losses could suggest that AI is currently playing more of an augmentative role in the Australian labour market, with Australians less likely to use AI primarily for automation," he said.

Getting Harder to Find a Job

In a grim update, Deloitte Access Economics still expects it to be harder for Australians to find a new role. According to Deloitte, AI's impact on work is occurring as the market softens due to three interest rate hikes and the economic impacts of the Middle East war.

Annual employment growth slowed to 0.9% in the year to April 2026, down from a 1.9% average over the previous three years. Unemployment has risen 0.4 percentage points since December 2025.

"With economic uncertainty rising, businesses are expected to behave more cautiously, tempering hiring decisions and constraining employment growth over the coming year," Mr Rumbens said. "With government budgets stretched, public sector jobs growth is also expected to ease further. Hiring momentum in non-market sectors like health care, education and public administration has softened, likely reflecting widespread fiscal restraint by Australian federal and state governments."

Hiring Slows

Deloitte research comes as many high-profile technology businesses reduce their headcount, largely blaming gains in AI. Globally, there have been job cuts at leading technology companies, with Microsoft offering voluntary buyouts to 7% of its staff in the US, while Meta said it would cut about 10% of staff. Locally, there has been restructures including 1,600 jobs at Atlassian and 2,000 at WiseTech Global.

Deloitte workforce strategy lead partner Sarah Rogers conceded while widespread job losses had not occurred, AI was slowing the number of hires in the disrupted sectors. According to Ms Rogers, AI-disrupted occupations is forecast to slow from an annual average of 1.9% over the past five years to 1.2% over the next five years.

"These AI-disrupted occupations are concentrated in white-collar, knowledge-intensive industries such as financial and insurance services, professional, scientific and technical services and information media, but the disrupted tasks within these roles often rely less on judgment, empathy and people skills," she said.