Federal statistics show steadily increasing unemployment rates for tech-related industries while L.A. showcases availability for AI production

As Artificial Intelligence dominates the technology industry, the enterprise it offers is getting lost in translation to the job market. 

While the new frontier AI offers is revolutionizing countless industries, the tech industry is taking a significant blow. Computer science and engineering majors are at a significant employment deficit after historically promising success.

According to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, statistics released in February of this year reveal the growing trends starting in 2024. Computer engineering and computer science majors have among the highest unemployment rates in the country, ranking 7.8% and 7.0% respectively — coming second only to anthropology at 7.9%. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that the general unemployment rate in California has steadily increased since the beginning of 2026. As data centers spread across the country, they have taken root in numbers in SoCal. With so much apparent enterprise in the Golden State known for its technological advances, why are tech graduates fighting for their seat at the table? 

In a recent study from Stanford’s Institute for Economic Policy Research, data shows that software developers are facing the most dramatic cut to employment after the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. Those aged 22-25 take the most significant hit, down 20%, while those aged 26-30 are facing around a 5% decrease. Software developers 30 or older, well into their careers, are seeing opposing impacts, with job security steadily rising. 

Experts in the field, like Ben Hyman, an economist at the University of California, Los Angeles, are saying that AI has had specifically concentrated impacts in the tech-related industries — figuratively taking from the hands that made it. 

Brookings Institution, a non-profit focusing on economic and development analysis, maps the U.S. and its data center hot spots. While the Bay Area is the most visually significant, housing the only “AI Superstars,” Los Angeles and Seattle serve as the only other concentrated data center hubs on the West Coast.  

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The term “AI Superstars” refers to the apparent presence of three “AI success pillars”: talent, innovation and adoption. The Bay Area is currently the only spot in the U.S. deemed to house all three, where L.A. and Seattle are categorized as “Star Hubs” for housing “uniformly strong AI ecosystems, balancing top‑tier talent, research, and enterprise uptake.”

With a growing number of data centers and an apparent abundance of resources for such, California remains a target for AI production, raising the question of what is next for Los Angeles and its workforce.

Currently, L.A. County has no regulations for “data centers or warehouses designed for data storage, processing, and generation associated with Artificial Intelligence technology,” according to L.A. County Planning. Even so,  L.A. County remains resistant to the invasive innovation of AI. 

This May, Monterey Park overwhelmingly voted to permanently ban data centers in the city, the first in the U.S. to do so. Residents of City of Industry, Avocado Heights and Bell have also voiced concerns to local leaders about the impact of proposed hyperscale data centers. 

This has prompted action from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, with Supervisor Hilda Solis introducing a motion to require county departments, such as public health, public works, the fire department and more, to investigate the potential impacts of data centers. 

Spectrum News reported on May 1 that the county’s report is to be expected back in 120 days, meaning the second or third week of this month. 

“These developments have been happening nationwide,” Solis said. “And there will no doubt be an impact in Los Angeles County… in the very near future, if not already.”