WSJ What's News · Oct 21, 2026
With Sander van 't Noordende, CEO of Randstad
Sander van 't Noordende, CEO of Randstad, told Luke Vargas on WSJ What's News that the labor market is improving for workers, with US unemployment holding around 3.8% to 3.9% for roughly 16 to 20 quarters since COVID. Bill Gates has predicted that AI will eventually erode most jobs. Sander, who runs one of the companies that fills those jobs, says AI's damage so far is confined to a handful of roles.
"There is no evidence whatsoever that AI is impacting the labor market at scale. Unemployment levels are at historically low levels in most developed markets." — Sander van 't Noordende
Sander spoke just after Randstad reported almost 4% organic growth, with its US operational staffing business for warehouses, plants and airports up almost 20%.
The full segment is covered here so you can skip it.
Here are the 5 takeaways that matter.
Key Takeaways
Randstad's CEO sees "no evidence whatsoever" that AI is hurting the labor market at scale
AI's job losses are concentrated in clerical, marketing, design and call-center work
AI coding tools have raised demand for software developers, not cut it
Electricians and HVAC engineers for data centers can earn "above 100K"
"A job is not a task" is Sander's answer to predictions that AI will erode most jobs
Flooding hiring with AI-written applications is a "dead end street"
1. AI Hits Jobs Only in Pockets
Sander described a classical cyclical recovery, with the labor market "improving" for workers. Where AI is having an effect, he said, it shows up in specific "pockets" of work rather than across the economy.
Sander says AI's job losses are concentrated in administrative and customer-service roles
"The jobs that are impacted are your administrative jobs, clerks, accounting clerks, finance clerks, marketing, design, content fabrication, customer service in a call center or on the chat type of work." — Sander van 't Noordende
Outside those pockets, US unemployment has stayed around 3.8% to 3.9% for roughly 16 to 20 quarters since COVID.
