California launches AI-Unemployment Tracker to monitor layoffs

California launched the nation’s first AI-Unemployment Tracker on Thursday, a public dashboard that will update monthly to monitor whether artificial intelligence is linked to job losses. The tool tracks unemployment claims in occupations researchers have judged highly exposed to AI.

The dashboard was developed by the California Employment Development Department with researchers at the California Policy Lab’s UCLA site. Governor Gavin Newsom announced the tool as part of his executive actions on AI and wrote on X that California won’t just watch the technology from the sidelines.

State officials report that the first months of data do not show a broad statewide rise in unemployment tied to AI, but the dashboard has highlighted pockets of higher claims. Researchers identified increases in unemployment filings among college-educated workers in occupations with high AI exposure after the launch of ChatGPT-3.5 in 2022, with the San Francisco Bay Area among regions showing early signs of displacement.

Till von Wachter, a UCLA economics professor and faculty director of the California Policy Lab, noted: “The concerns workers have about what AI could mean for their jobs are real. This new tracker helps replace speculation with evidence, giving us a clearer understanding of what’s changing and how to best support affected workers.”

The announcement follows warnings from some AI developers and economists about the potential for automation to reshape jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that AI could eliminate up to half of entry-level white-collar jobs within five years. A Federal Reserve study found U.S. programmer job growth slowed by roughly half after the launch of ChatGPT, a change researchers link to generative AI.

At the federal level, lawmakers have proposed measures to respond to AI-related job risks. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introduced bipartisan legislation to require companies to report AI-related layoffs. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has raised concerns about automation’s effects on employment, and a New York lawmaker proposed an “AI Dividend” tied to displacement.

The tracker combines unemployment insurance claim records with occupational exposure measures to detect shifts that may be associated with automation rather than broader economic changes. The Employment Development Department plans to use the dashboard’s outputs alongside existing workforce programs to guide retraining, job-search assistance and benefits guidance for affected workers.

The dashboard will be public and updated monthly so local officials, employers and researchers can monitor changes in unemployment claims and direct resources where they rise.