Hiring demand for jobs more exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) has fallen across Asia, with employers seeking fewer workers for these roles compared with jobs less affected by the technology, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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The IMF’s October 2026 Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific found that employer demand for AI-exposed occupations declined by nearly 10% relative to less-exposed jobs. The findings offer evidence of how the growing use of AI tools since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022 may be changing recruitment patterns across the region.

The report analysed 40 million online job postings from 19 Asian economies, covering low-income, emerging and advanced economies. The data tracked employers’ skill requirements across industries, occupations and economies through April 2026.

To assess the impact, the IMF compared occupations where AI can perform tasks more effectively with those where its role is more limited. Coding was cited as an example of a highly AI-exposed activity, while managing supplier relationships represented a less-exposed task.

The analysis also compared roles within the same economy, industry and month, while accounting for the potential to work remotely. This approach helped distinguish AI-related changes in hiring demand from other factors, including shifts in recruitment following the pandemic and earlier periods of excessive hiring.

However, the IMF’s findings suggest that the employment impact is not entirely negative. Although reduced hiring currently appears to outweigh the new opportunities emerging in AI-related areas, the report indicates that these opportunities have begun to develop and may expand over time.

The effects also vary across Asian economies, meaning the scale and nature of AI’s influence on employment are unlikely to be uniform throughout the region.