Artificial intelligence adoption and labor market impacts expand globally

Artificial intelligence continues to reshape global economies and labor markets, though adoption rates and impacts vary significantly by region and sector. In Switzerland, AI usage among companies has risen to 57 percent, exceeding the European average of 54 percent. However, most Swiss firms remain at a basic implementation level, primarily using chatbots for routine tasks, while advanced or agentic AI remains rare.

In Germany, the adoption of AI is growing but remains cautious. While the number of companies using the technology rose from 20 percent in 2024 to 36 percent in 2025, investment levels remain relatively stable, and many users only employ one or two applications. This contrasts with China, where a more dynamic approach is noted, characterized by the widespread use of open-source large language models and integration into edge devices.

The economic impact on workers is also becoming evident. Research from Apollo Global Management suggests that in the United States, AI has not primarily caused mass layoffs but has instead contributed to a 6.7 percent decline in real wage growth for 5.8 million highly exposed workers since 2023. Employers appear to be capturing productivity gains through wage pressure rather than staff reductions.

On the infrastructure side, Lenovo reports a massive surge in demand, with its Infrastructure Solutions Group revenue increasing by 98 percent to 8.5 billion USD. The company notes that the industry is shifting from addressing computing power shortages to tackling execution constraints, such as power supply, cooling systems, and land availability for data centers.