WO Digest: Employment Index rebounds, but job growth remains modest; Upwork revenue falls 1.7%; CA launches AI unemployment tracker

The WO Digest: August 11, 2026

• The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index rose to 107.71 in July, up from 106.74 in June, signaling continued labor-market resilience. Small businesses reporting unfilled jobs climbed to 36%, while unemployment claims fell to their lowest level since 2022. Job openings rose to an estimated 7.53 million, and temporary-help employment increased by 3,400. Still, the index is up just 0.6% year over year, pointing to modest payroll growth ahead.
• Upwork reported Q2 revenue of $191.7 million, down 1.7% year over yearbut ahead of Wall Street estimates. Non-GAAP earnings beat expectations by nearly 20%, but its $180 million Q3 revenue forecast fell 7.1% short of estimates. Revenue has grown just 6.6% annually over the past three years, underscoring continued growth challenges.
• California has launched a first-of-its-kind AI-Unemployment Trackerto monitor potential AI-driven job displacement. Developed with the California Policy Lab, the tool uses monthly unemployment claims data to track trends by industry, region, education, age and other demographics — providing early signals to help target retraining, job-search and other workforce support.
• Randstad says hiring demand is showing early signs of improvement after more than two years of weakness. Q2 U.S. revenue rose 4%, led by a 13% jump in operational staffing, while professional staffing fell 6%. Larger employers are hiring first, with temporary and blue-collar demand offering early signs that the broader labor market may be stabilizing.
• Anthropic’s head of economics, Peter McCrory, says the Anthropic’s latest analysis finds no significant impact from AI on U.S. unemployment so far,challenging warnings of an imminent white-collar job crisis. June unemployment stood at 4.2%, while workers in AI-exposed occupations have not seen greater unemployment than those in less-exposed roles. McCrory argues AI’s uneven capabilities and continued need for human oversight are limiting job displacement — for now.
• Google’s analysis of nearly 15 million Gemini interactions findsAI is being used across 70% of occupations, representing about 90% of U.S. employment. Yet workers use AI for just 21% of tasks on average, primarily for research, drafting, troubleshooting and learning. Less than 10% of interactions appear aimed at automating non-routine cognitive work, suggesting AI is still more collaborator than job replacer.
• Foreign-trained workers are increasingly critical to addressing global health careshortages. Indeed data shows 5.3% of clicks on physician and surgeon jobs came from jobseekers outside the posting country in 2025–26, versus 1.7% for nursing roles. India and the Philippines remain major sources of health care talent, as aging populations and persistent shortages drive countries to recruit internationally. Explore our full newsfeed at workforceobserver.com and share with your team! It's fact-filled, focused and free! WO Digest is a free, weekly newsletter, delivering a round up of top stories and covering important insights into the world of work.