First Move · AI & Jobs ·
Riding the wave — Friday morning, 30 October
AI Rebounding Trend Emerges as Workers Demand Higher Pay, Better Terms
A new SHL report reveals employees replaced by AI are being rehired, often at higher cost, and with new demands for job security and transparency.
EDITION 2026-10-30 · EVERY CLAIM SOURCED · GROUNDED VIA SEARCH AT PUBLISH
Riders, not victims
Mathematicians
Role: AI Trainer (Global)
What They Did: Annotating proofs for AI training companies, with some roles advertised at over $100 per hour, contributing their expertise to refine AI models.
Lawyers
Role: AI Trainer (Global)
What They Did: Assessing legal briefs to improve AI models' understanding and generation of sound legal arguments for specialized gig platforms.
Professors
Role: AI Trainer (Global)
What They Did: Grading essays to enhance AI models' capabilities in evaluating complex topics and generating high-quality written content.
Macro signals
- A new SHL research report, released October 29, 2026, identified an "AI rebounding" trend where employees replaced by AI are being asked back by the same employers months later, now demanding substantial pay increases (51%), job security guarantees (42%), and transparency on AI use (40%).
- Gartner, Inc. predicted on October 28, 2026, that 30% of employees replaced by AI will be rehired by 2029, often at a higher cost, if organizations do not overhaul workforce planning.
- Goldman Sachs Research noted on October 28, 2026, early signs of AI weighing on hiring in AI-exposed industries, with employment growth running about 10,000 jobs below its long-term trend over the past three months.
- A Gartner survey, also released October 28, 2026, showed that 47% of supply chains reduced headcount by an average of 10.5% over the past two years, primarily due to the impact of AI.
- The World Economic Forum reported on October 28, 2026, that AI companies are increasingly hiring highly trained professionals, such as mathematicians, lawyers, and professors, to improve their models, with some roles advertised at over $100 per hour.
Reporting + analyst voices: grounded via Google Search at publish time.