The Director of the National Economic Council (NEC), Kevin Hassett, said Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creating a “quiet time” in the labor market as it diminishes the necessity of entry-level workers.
Hassett made this assessment to CNBC on Monday while detailing how the U.S. output market could be giving “really, really positive signals” while the job market is producing “mixed signals.”
“Firms are finding that AI is making their workers so productive that they don’t necessarily have to hire the new kids out of college, and so on,” Hassett told the outlet. (RELATED: DOUGLAS CARSWELL: Those Dark Clouds Are The Debt)
“But because there is so much output growth and income growth, that’s the kind of thing that a free market will work out relatively quickly as new ways to spend money emerge,” the former senior advisor to President Donald Trump said.
He added that the nation’s GDP is close to 4%, and productivity is around 3%.
Kevin Hassett: “I think there could be a little bit of an almost quiet time in the labor market, because firms are finding that AI is making their workers so productive that they don’t necessarily have to hire the new kids out of college and so on.” pic.twitter.com/ma8iwhiGsk
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 17, 2025
Although GDP growth has previously surpassed expectations, the founder of Tolou Capital Management, Spencer Hakimian, shared Hassett’s interview with the caption, “AKA a recession.”
Tech jobs in California have also taken a hit as the industry confronts not only automation, but also crime, taxes and H-1B visas, the Daily Caller News Foundation previously reported.
While Americans express concerns over AI taking entry-level jobs, a debate is emerging on the Right over the replacement of high-skilled workers through immigration with H-1B visas.(RELATED: DeSantis World Goes To War With H1B Visas As Trump Faces Blowback From Base)
“Republicans have a majority in Congress and could legislate the elimination of H1B (and any programs designed to import cheap foreign labor),” Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday.
DeSantis’ remarks followed the release of a Tuesday interview where Trump claimed the U.S. did not have the talent required to create objects like batteries, a point he reiterated Monday.