Employers across Asia have reduced hiring demand for jobs more exposed to artificial intelligence (AI), with recruitment demand in these occupations falling by nearly 10% relative to less AI-exposed roles, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) October 2026 Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific.

The report provides early empirical evidence of how the spread of AI tools is reshaping labour-market demand since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in November 2022. While reduced hiring remains the stronger trend in AI-exposed occupations, the IMF notes that new opportunities are beginning to emerge, with their impact varying across economies in the region.

The analysis draws on 40 million online job postings across 19 Asian economies, spanning low-income, emerging-market and advanced economies. The dataset enables researchers to track changes in the skills employers seek across countries, industries and occupations, month by month through April 2026.

To assess AI’s impact, the IMF compared occupations where AI is more useful with those where its applications are more limited. Coding, for instance, was classified as a highly AI-exposed activity, while managing supplier relationships served as an example of a less-exposed role.

The comparison accounted for differences within the same economy, industry and month, while also considering the scope for remote work. This approach helped researchers examine how hiring demand changed across occupations with different levels of exposure to AI.

The findings suggest that AI’s growing role in the workplace is already influencing recruitment patterns. However, the report indicates that the effects are not uniform across Asia. Although hiring demand has weakened more sharply in AI-exposed occupations, opportunities associated with the technology have also begun to appear and may expand over time.

The emerging picture points to a labour market in transition, where the effects of AI will depend not only on which tasks technology can perform, but also on how businesses adapt and create new demand for skills.