Artificial intelligence is no longer just a hiring tool; it is increasingly shaping who gets hired, who gets promoted, and who gets cut. A new national AI in Hiring and Layoffs survey of 1,000 U.S. hiring managers from MyPerfectResume finds that while 52% of employers now use AI to support workforce planning decisions, only 51% say they are confident it is used fairly in layoffs, and 23% express doubts.
AI is deeply embedded across hiring and workforce decision-making, often operating with limited transparency and uneven confidence in its fairness. As their roles expand, many employers acknowledge that these systems are not always making the right decisions.
Key Findings
- AI is widely adopted in hiring: 73% of employers say they use AI in hiring decisions, while 27% do not.
- AI is filtering candidates before humans ever see them: 65% of hiring managers say AI automatically rejects applicants before human review.
- In some cases, AI is eliminating the majority of candidates: 14% say these systems reject more than half of all applicants.
- Employers report possible missed candidates: 47% say AI may have filtered out candidates
- AI is expanding into high-stakes workforce decisions: 52% of employers use AI to support workforce planning, and another 28% are considering it.
- Confidence in AI fairness is divided: 51% say they are confident AI is used fairly in layoffs, while 23% express doubts.
- AI is making subjective judgments about candidates: 51% of employers use AI to flag “risky” applicants, such as job hoppers or those with career gaps.
- Even more employers are considering expanding this use: 12% say they are exploring the use of AI to flag risky candidates.
“AI is no longer just supporting hiring decisions; it’s actively deciding who gets seen and who gets filtered out,” says Jasmine Escalera, career expert at MyPerfectResume. “When more than half of employers are using these tools to shape workforce decisions, the stakes are incredibly high. The concern is that speed and efficiency are being prioritized over accuracy and fairness, and that can have real consequences for qualified candidates.”
AI Is Expanding Beyond Hiring Into Workforce Decisions
AI is no longer limited to recruiting; it is increasingly being used to shape broader workforce strategy and organizational decisions.
- 52% of employers use AI for workforce planning decisions
- 28% are considering using AI for:
- Restructuring decisions
- Role redundancy analysis
- 20% say they do not plan to use AI in workforce planning
AI Is Now a First-Line Gatekeeper in Hiring
AI is determining which candidates are reviewed by humans, and which are filtered out before they are ever seen.
- 65% of employers say AI automatically rejects candidates before human review
Breakdown of rejection levels:
- 1–25% of applicants rejected: 26%
- 26–50% rejected: 25%
- 51–75% rejected: 11%
- Over 75% rejected: 3%
- Only 5% say AI rejects no candidates
Employers Acknowledge AI Doesn’t Always Get It Right
Even as adoption grows, employers report consistent issues with AI accuracy and candidate filtering.
- 47% say AI has filtered out candidates they would have advanced
- 17% say this happens rarely
- 7% say it never happens
AI Is Being Used to Make Subjective Judgments About Candidates
AI is increasingly being used to evaluate behavior and career patterns, not just qualifications.
- 51% of employers use AI to flag “risky” candidates
- 12% are considering using AI for this purpose
Confidence in AI Fairness Is Divided—Especially in Layoffs
As AI plays a larger role in workforce decisions, confidence in its fairness remains uneven.
- 51% say they are confident AI is fair in layoffs
- 23% express doubts
- 26% do not use AI in layoff decisions
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