Artificial intelligence could create 44k jobs, deliver $116bn economic boostAustralia’s decade-long productivity slump could get a shot in the arm with new modelling on AI uptake forecasting a boost to the economy.Blair Jackson2 min readAugust 6, 2026 - 12:21PMNewsWireArtificial intelligence could reverse Australia’s productivity slump in the coming decade by boosting GDP up to 3.6 per cent and creating up to 44,000 additional jobs, modelling from a major consulting firms shows.The EY-Parthenon report finds AI could deliver “a much-needed productivity lift” over the next 10 years, adding $95bn-$116bn to the economy.“Construction is expected to see the largest increase in full-time jobs, as AI adoption lifts demand for new capital, equipment, systems and infrastructure, including the data centres and supporting infrastructure needed to enable the technology,” EY Oceania chief economist Cherelle Murphy said.“Productivity is the main driver of long-term economic expansion and improvements in living standards, but Australia’s performance has been weak over the past decade.”Modelling from EY-Parthenon forecasts AI gains, particularly in construction and warehousing, could revive Australia’s ailing productivity levels. Picture: NewsWireAustralia’s labour productivity growth has slowed since 2016, flattening increases to real wages and overall living standards. In 2004, the 20-year average annual growth rate was 1.8 per cent, in 2023 it was 0.9 per cent, and in 2024 it fell again to 0.8 per cent.Australia’s real per capita GDP growth rose considerably from the early 1980s into the new millennium under the Hawke, Keating and then Howard governments.Others you may likenewsnewsMuted by the Global Financial Crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, real per capita GDP growth has stagnated.The EY analysis finds increased AI adoption could boost real GDP by between 2.6 per cent and 3.2 per cent by 2036. More AI uptake could support about 36,000 to 44,000 additional full-time equivalent jobs, driving $31bn to $38bn in additional investment.Australia's labour productivity growth rate has steadily decreased for the past decade. Picture: ABS“Labour productivity growth has averaged just 0.3 per cent a year over the past 10 years, less than a quarter of the rate recorded in the previous decade,” Ms Murphy said.“That is why the potential productivity uplift from AI matters, not just as a technology story but as an economic growth story.”Alongside construction, industries ripe for AI expansions and productivity gains were wholesale and retail trade, transport and warehousing, Ms Murphy said.Conversely, the biggest job losses are expected in agriculture and mining.News emerged this week that Qantas’ AI ambitions have prompted the airline to look at offshoring 1000 jobs. Picture: NewsWire / Brenton EdwardsMore CoverageHow AI will change these key Aussie jobsBlair JacksonQantas’ plan to send 1k jobs overseasCameron Micallef“The modelling shows employment demand shifting toward sectors that benefit from stronger investment and household spending, while capital-intensive industries need fewer workers,” Ms Murphy said.One of the latest capital-intensive corporations to axe jobs because of AI is Qantas. Just this week, it emerged the airline was in talks with consultants to offshore 1000 marketing, finance, human resources and other back-office jobs to South Asia.Qantas was “looking at ways to accelerate the use of technology and AI to help us modernise the way we work and deliver better outcomes for our customers and our people”, a spokesperson said.More related storiesAustralian EconomyHanson to stop ‘nail technicians, Uber drivers’The One Nation leader has a bold plan for migration in Australia but it might make it harder to get a fresh set of nails.Read moreReal Estate1500 5pc deposit homes used as investmentsNearly 1500 homes bought under the federal government’s 5 per cent deposit scheme have been turned into investment properties, new data shows.Read moreAustralian Economy‘Doomed’: 5 mins of silence over huge claimA real estate expert has been left in stunned silence after Jim Chalmers made a massive claim about the state of the economy.Read more