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Breaking Job News: The VA Plans to Eliminate 35k Roles, The Great Stay Is Shifting, & New AI Jobs
The headlines say the labor market is “fine.” Your inbox, calendar, and workload probably disagree. In today’s Breaking Job News, host Pete Newsome cuts through the noise to unpack what’s actually happening at work, from AI adoption accelerating faster than leadership can manage it, to the next phase of the Great Stay reshaping how opportunity shows up.
New Gallup data shows 45% of U.S. workers now use AI at work, yet nearly one in four don’t even know their company’s AI strategy. That awareness gap is a quiet career risk. Pete explains where AI is truly adding value right now: information synthesis, idea generation, learning, and basic automation, and how to turn small, practical wins into long-term leverage, even when hiring slows and job postings dry up.
As quits fall and hiring cools, new roles are forming around AI rather than replacing jobs outright. Pete breaks down four emerging paths, AI explainers, AI auditors, AI choosers, and AI trainers, and why proof-of-value skills matter more than titles or degrees in this phase of the labor market. If reqs are frozen, measurable impact is how you stay indispensable.
He also connects the macro trends to real-world consequences with the VA’s plan to cut tens of thousands of mostly unfilled healthcare roles. It’s a snapshot of today’s Great Stay: fewer openings, heavier workloads, and growing burnout. In this environment, the people who remove friction, by streamlining processes, using AI to reduce bottlenecks, or improving throughput, create momentum when the market feels stuck.
If the job market looks stable on paper but unstable in practice, how are you positioning yourself to stand out when opportunity shifts from postings to proof?
News Articles:
1. AI Use at Work Rises: https://www.gallup.com/workplace/699689/ai-use-at-work-rises.aspx
2. Four New Jobs That May Be in Our AI Future: https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/new-jobs-ai-future-fefd4b35?mod=jobs_news_article_pos3
3. How Much Longer Can the Great Stay Last: https://recruitonomics.com/how-much-longer-can-the-great-stay-last/
4. VA Plans for Job Cuts: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/12/13/va-veterans-affairs-job-cuts-trump/
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👋 FOLLOW PETE NEWSOME ONLINE:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petenewsome/
Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog
In today's job market headlines, there are four stories that collectively explain exactly where the labor market stands right now. Let's start with AI. A new Gallup poll shows 45% of U.S. workers now use AI at work at least occasionally, which is up from 40% just one quarter earlier. More frequent use is rising too. 23% say they use AI at least weekly, and 10% are using it daily. Now, the numbers are increasing, but they sound low to me. They're low based on the survey that we conducted in October, as well as just everyone I encounter. One in ten using it daily, it has to be higher than that. So I was definitely surprised by these numbers. People are most commonly using AI for consolidating information or data, idea generation, learning new things, and automating basic tasks. So no surprise there. But what really shocked me is to see that there's a really big disconnect when it comes to employee awareness.
Pete Newsome:23% of employees don't know whether their company has adopted AI. Not that they're not involved, but they don't even know what's going on. So if you are an employee of an organization anywhere, change that as soon as possible. Get in the loop, ask questions, and if you can, get involved in the AI adoption. But at the very least, make sure that you are well aware of what's happening because there's a good chance it could impact your job. It will impact your job. That's almost a guarantee. Hopefully for the better, potentially for the worse, but make sure you aren't surprised. So ask questions and get those answers as soon as you can. And the next headline: the threat of AI job displacement is a reality. But a story in the Wall Street Journal outlines four emerging job categories created because of AI adoption. Here's what they are: AI explainers who will translate complex AI behavior into clear, actionable insights.
Pete Newsome:AI auditors who will ensure AI systems are compliant, safe, and aligned with company standards. AI choosers who will guide organizations in selecting the right AI tools for specific tasks. And AI trainers who will help employees upskill and work effectively with AI systems. I love seeing this because although I talk a lot about job displacement as a result of AI, it's also a time of great opportunity. Mark Cuban recently talked about this too. He was giving advice to young people where he said companies don't understand how to implement AI right now to get a competitive advantage. That's very true. Almost every organization I know of is trying desperately to figure it out, but everyone's making it up as they go. This is uncharted territory. So what he suggested is learn to customize a model, then walk into a company and show the benefits. That is every single job that's going to be available for kids coming out of school. I believe it's great advice and really like seeing it because there's no doubt in my mind that those who lean into AI will be able to create their own opportunities.
Pete Newsome:It's happening every day. And the best part of all is that it doesn't require a specific degree or training. There's really no barrier to entry. It's only a matter of effort and willingness to do it and make it happen. So I love seeing that. And it's more important than ever because we're not seeing a lot of job creation. In fact, the biggest problem in today's job market isn't layoffs, it's that hardly anyone's hiring. Sam Kuhn of Recruitonomics published an article examining the persistence of what labor economists and analysts have been calling the Great Stay, which is a period marked by weak hiring, declining quits, and only modest layoffs in the U.S. labor market as we head into 2026. So we haven't seen huge layoffs, we've seen consistent ones, but there's just a lot of stagnation. And that term really just describes a labor market that isn't particularly tight, but also not sharply contracting. Employees are staying in their jobs. It's often referred to as job hugging, you know, which is employees just not wanting to move right now. But I like the great stay. Um, and this is a trend that I don't like it happening.
Pete Newsome:By the way, let me be clear. I like the term, I think that's a lot more uh professional. But job hugging or the great stay, this is a trend that has been going on for about two years now. And the market just continues to feel like it's stuck in neutral. Now, tomorrow's jobs report is expected to show that we've added 40,000 jobs. I'm skeptical, we'll have to find out. I mean, we're gonna know soon enough. And that brings us to the final story today. The Department of Veterans Affairs plans to eliminate up to 35,000 healthcare jobs, mostly unfilled positions, fortunately, like nurses, doctors, and mental health staff. This comes after nearly 30,000 employees have already left this year through buyouts in attrition. The VA says care won't be affected, of course they do, but workers say the system is already stretched, wait times are growing, and now it's clear that, well, relief is no longer on the way. And this is a good example of the great stay. It's how it's playing out in real life. Not a layoff, but fewer jobs, resulting in heavier workloads and rising burnout.
Pete Newsome:Nobody wins. So let's hope for a Christmas miracle with tomorrow's jobs data. So, for better or worse, those are the top job market stories for today. But here's a fun fact it's not fun at all. I have to stop saying it that way. But here's a work-related fact. In Japan, the average work week is 60 to 70 hours. So things aren't great here right now. They're not as bad as they could be, and they're certainly not as bad as they are in Japan. So small things to be thankful for, I guess. So that's it for today. Looking forward to reporting on the jobs data tomorrow. Stay tuned for that. Look forward to talking to you then. In the meantime, please like, subscribe, and share with anyone who you think might be interested. Talk to you soon.