Survey of Consumer Expectations
Monthly NY Fed household survey; April 2026 wave found 62% of workers expect AI to raise unemployment within 12 months.
Last refreshed: 16 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Why do 62% of American workers expect AI to destroy jobs when official data is unclear?
Timeline for Survey of Consumer Expectations
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AI: Jobs, Power & Money- What did the New York Fed survey say about AI and jobs in 2026?
- The NY Fed SCE (April 2026) found 39% of employed US workers use AI tools, 62% expect AI to raise unemployment within 12 months, and AI access is 4.2 times more common among high earners than low earners.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Liberty Street Economics)
- Why did the BLS skip its AI jobs report in April 2026?
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics skipped its scheduled 14 April 2026 GenAI workplace publication without explanation. The NY Fed's SCE filled the gap the same day, becoming the de facto federal measure of AI's workforce impact.Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics / NY Fed
- How much would workers pay for AI training access?
- Workers without AI training access say they would give up 11.4% of salary to get it. Workers who have access demand a 24.2% wage premium to move to a role without it, according to the NY Fed SCE April 2026.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Liberty Street Economics)
- What is the NY Fed Survey of Consumer Expectations?
- The SCE is a monthly household survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York covering inflation, credit, income, and labour market expectations. In April 2026 it became the primary federal data source on AI workplace adoption after the BLS skipped its own publication.Source: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
Background
The Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE) is a monthly household survey run by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York through its Liberty Street Economics research arm. Its April 2026 publication — released 14 April, the same day the Bureau of Labor Statistics skipped its scheduled GenAI workplace report — became the de facto federal measure of AI's impact on American workers. Key findings: 39% of employed workers use AI tools at work; 62% expect AI to raise unemployment within 12 months; and AI access is stratified 4.2 times by income, with 66.3% of workers earning over $200,000 using AI against 15.9% earning under $50,000.
The SCE is a broad household expectations survey covering credit conditions, income, inflation, and labour market outlook. It is not specifically an AI survey; the AI findings emerged from an additional module on workplace technology. Workers without AI training access say they would give up 11.4% of salary to obtain it; those with access demand a 24.2% wage premium to move to a job without it. Only 15.9% of employers offer AI training, yet 11% actively prohibit tool use. The education stratification is stark: 58.7% of college graduates use AI against 22.9% without a degree.
The SCE's significance on this beat is structural. The BLS had the mandate to measure AI in the workplace; when it skipped its April publication, a regional reserve bank's consumer survey became the headline number policymakers and journalists cited. The 62% unemployment-expectation figure is now widely cited as evidence that workers themselves price AI as a net job threat — a sentiment that neither the three conflicting federal surveys nor the Stanford JOLTS analysis can directly contradict, because it is forward-looking rather than measured.