Taub Center Study Links AI to Rising Unemployment Among Software Developers and Sales Staff

A 2026 Taub Center study finds AI responsible for 20% of unemployment growth in tech. Discover how the "era of immunity" is ending for Israeli developers.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 17, 2026, 9:47 AM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from CTech

The Erosion of Professional Immunity

New data from the Taub Center for Social Policy Studies indicates that the era of job security for high-tech and financial professionals is undergoing a significant shift. According to the study, titled How Artificial Intelligence Changed the Composition of the Unemployed in Israel, AI is now a primary driver in the changing occupational profile of the jobless. Researchers Michael Debowy, Prof. Gil Epstein, and Prof. Avi Weiss found that while technology was once seen as a supplement to high-skilled labor, it is increasingly replacing roles in sectors that previously enjoyed high demand and low layoff rates.

Quantifying the Impact on Programming and Sales

The study identifies software development and telephone sales as the two professions most exposed to displacement. AI currently explains between 12% and 20% of the increase in unemployment among software developers recorded between 2022 and 2025. For telephone sales representatives, the impact is even more pronounced, accounting for 10% to 26% of their rising unemployment. Prof. Gil Epstein noted that AI is "reshuffling the deck," effectively closing doors for workers who cannot adapt to a market that now favors those who can manage AI-driven automation rather than perform routine coding or scripted sales tasks.

A Shift in the Occupational Composition

While Israel's overall unemployment rate has remained relatively stable, the types of workers seeking employment have changed. Between 2019 and 2022, workers from "at-risk" automation professions accounted for roughly 14% to 16% of total unemployment; by 2025, that share has surged to between 20% and 25%. This shift is further evidenced by a decline in job vacancies for these roles, suggesting that companies are choosing to integrate AI tools—which can perform information extraction and first-draft generation—rather than fill open positions with human labor.