Danmarks Nationalbank published a new analysis on Wednesday showing that Danish companies using artificial intelligence hire fewer young and highly educated workers than comparable firms.
The central bank’s analysis is titled “Kunstig intelligens og arbejdsmarkedet: Omstillingen er begyndt”. As reported by Dagbladet Information, the bank compared firms that have adopted AI with otherwise similar firms that have not. Companies that adopted the technology later showed lower employment growth.
According to the analysis, the firms are not laying off staff yet. Instead, they hire fewer new employees than they otherwise would have. The effect is clearest among young people and workers with longer educations.
In 2025, companies using AI hired around 11 percent fewer 18 to 30 year olds than companies that did not, the analysis states. Employees with longer educations were affected to roughly the same degree. The Danish results resemble findings from studies in other countries.
Nationalbank director Signe Krogstrup told Information that the bank wanted to put data and facts on the table. Per Krogstrup, the numbers confirm that some jobs and employees are more exposed to AI than others. She said this does not give cause for concern, at least not yet.
Denmark leads on adoption
New figures from Danmarks Statistik, published in 2026, show that 59 percent of Danish companies use at least one AI tool. That makes Danish firms the most frequent users of the technology in Europe. Large, highly productive companies with many highly educated staff are the most likely adopters.
The split between sectors is wide. Four out of five companies in information and communication use AI, while only about one in five do so in the construction sector, according to the analysis.
Total employment in Denmark has not changed significantly so far. Job seekers who are turned away from one company simply find work elsewhere. Nationalbanken describes the flexible Danish labor market, where many people change jobs each year, as robust to increased AI use.
Scenarios and uncertainty
The analysis sets out several scenarios, all described as highly uncertain. In the main scenario, which underpins the bank’s coming forecast for the Danish economy, AI is implemented gradually. Krogstrup said the bank considers it most likely that AI will not significantly affect total Danish employment over the next two to three years.
Nationalbanken has not made an assessment beyond that horizon because the technology is moving so fast, Krogstrup said. She added that the bank recognizes significant risks in the near future. The analysis names artificial general intelligence as a development that could have larger consequences than the main scenario assumes.
Krogstrup also pointed to the question of who gains from higher productivity. In the United States, corporate profits have reached record levels while the wage share of national income has fallen to its lowest level since the 1950s. She said this trend owes more to general technological development in recent decades than to AI specifically.
Views on the technology remain divided in Denmark. Dansk Industri has said AI could become the biggest growth opportunity in generations. Trade unions, researchers and many employees fear mass layoffs and rising unemployment.
