World Bank Council Urges Crisis Era Support as AI Continues to Threaten Jobs

The World Bank’s Jobs Council has urged governments to adopt crisis-era support measures to help workers navigate artificial intelligence disruption, as the International Monetary Fund warns that the technology could reshape labour markets worldwide, with young graduates facing some of the earliest impacts.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva described artificial intelligence as a “slow-moving tsunami” hitting the global labour market, warning that young people entering the workforce were particularly vulnerable as companies automate routine tasks and reduce demand for entry-level workers.

Speaking at the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok on Monday, Georgieva said AI was already affecting employment, even as investment in the technology helped sustain global economic growth. The IMF estimates that about 40% of jobs worldwide could be augmented, downgraded or eliminated by AI, with exposure reaching 60% in advanced economies and 23% in low-income countries.

Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, co-chair of the World Bank’s Jobs Council, called for governments to rethink labour-market support and education systems to prepare workers for the changes. He urged policymakers to make support measures introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic a more permanent feature of economic policy rather than relying on them only during emergencies.

Shanmugaratnam warned that declining demand for graduates could weaken opportunities for young workers to gain experience and develop their careers. He also cautioned that AI could widen economic disparities between advanced and developing economies if governments failed to respond effectively.

The concerns come as AI-related investment in computing infrastructure and technology continues to support economic activity. Georgieva said spending on AI was helping keep global growth near 3% despite disruptions to energy supplies and other economic pressures. She said AI adoption could also lift growth in advanced Asian economies by between 0.5 and 1 percentage point and in emerging Asian economies by between 0.2 and 0.8 percentage points.

However, the economic benefits may not translate automatically into more jobs. Companies can increase productivity through automation while reducing their need for some categories of workers, potentially leaving new graduates struggling to secure their first positions.

The IMF has also warned that AI could affect public finances if economic gains increasingly accrue to capital owners rather than workers, weakening the wage-based tax revenues that governments rely on to fund public services.

Policymakers face the challenge of helping workers adapt without undermining the productivity gains associated with the technology. Suggested responses include expanding vocational training, strengthening lifelong learning, improving access to job-transition support and adapting university programmes to changing employer needs.

For developing economies, the challenge is particularly complex. Although their exposure to AI-related job disruption may currently be lower, limited infrastructure, skills and access to technology could prevent them from capturing productivity gains.

The warnings underscore a growing policy debate over how governments can share the benefits of AI-driven growth while protecting workers whose jobs and career prospects may be transformed by automation.

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