Indian Employers Confident AI Will Fuel Job Growth

The latest findings from a global survey by Indeed revealed insights around the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at work. The findings shed light on the evolving relationship between employers, jobseekers and AI, offering insights into their expectations, concerns as well as how AI is currently being used in recruitment.

According to the survey, Indian employers are optimistic about the role of AI with over 85 per cent expecting AI to create new jobs in 1-5 years. A majority of jobseekers (63 per cent) are also excited about the potential impact, with 53 per cent agreeing AI is likely to create more jobs. This optimism from jobseekers stems from the belief that AI is likely to:

• Make work more productive and manageable (86 per cent)
• Help jobseekers acquire new skills or improve skills (85 per cent)
• Enable jobseekers to focus on more complex, important tasks (47 per cent)
• Help in getting hired for skills and potential rather than just experience (43 per cent)

Employers also believe that AI could improve the nature of employees’ tasks (85 per cent) and improve job security and opportunities for career development for their employees (77 per cent).

Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, Indeed India said, “This new survey brings encouraging news that jobseekers are not only aware of the promise of AI but are also excited about its potential. It demonstrates that job seekers are ready to embrace AI as a force for positive change in their careers. However, employers must work together to devise frameworks that allow the effective use of  in order to facilitate technological advancement.”

While Indian jobseekers are embracing the potential benefits of AI systems and tools, they also have concerns. Key worries include the need for reskilling or upskilling (43 per cent), potential job losses in their industry or profession (29 per cent), and ethical considerations (20 per cent). Additionally, they express apprehensions about negative impacts on their work wellbeing (17 per cent) and the possibility of bias (15 per cent).

Sentiment analysis of AI adoption across sectors 

How AI can transform the recruitment landscape

The survey also sheds light on how AI can revamp India’s recruitment landscape and what employers and jobseekers think would be the impact on the job search process. 90 per cent of HR/talent acquisition leaders think AI systems and tools will make their job easier and 86 per cent believe that AI can improve the hiring and candidate experience. 81 per cent also are optimistic that AI systems and tools will allow them to focus on the more 'human' aspects of their job.

A large majority of jobseekers (78 per cent) think the development of AI systems and tools will improve the hiring and candidate experience. However, over half (50 per cent) of jobseekers surveyed are concerned about AI replacing human judgment and intuition in hiring decisions. To have a fair and unbiased job search process, jobseekers would like employers to continue to ensure there is still a human approach/monitoring (48 per cent), and that data used for AI systems and tools is representative of minority groups (41 per cent).

How India stands against global counterparts

Respondents in India are by far the most bullish on AI, with 98 per cent of HR professionals and 91 per cent of job seekers saying they’re currently using AI tools for work. In comparison, more than one-third (35 per cent) of HR professionals and over half (53 per cent) of job seekers in Japan say they aren’t using AI tools professionally at all. The case is almost the opposite in France, where 30 per cent of job seekers and 25 per cent of HR professionals say they are fearful of the technology.

Other strong adopters of AI are the US and Canada used by 92 per cent of HR professionals and the UK (88 per cent). However these countries see some resistance from jobseekers with 41 per cent of jobseekers in the UK, 30 per cent in the US, and 42 per cent in Canada stating that they do not use AI currently at all.