Some of America's biggest companies are beginning to hire again after months of limiting headcount amid economic uncertainty and expectations that artificial intelligence could handle more work, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that companies including CSX Corp. (CSX  ), Alphabet Inc. (GOOG  ) (GOOGL  ), Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corp. (BAH  ) and others have recently signaled plans to add workers as they pursue growth and emerging technologies.

Hiring Returns

Booz Allen Chief Operating Officer Kristine Martin Anderson said the government contractor needs to pick up hiring after cutting thousands of jobs last year.

"We actually need to accelerate hiring a bit. We're a little bit behind right now," Anderson said. "We're addressing that now."

Alphabet Chief Financial Officer Anat Ashkenazi said the Google parent expects to continue hiring in key areas including AI and cloud computing. CSX expects its train and engine service headcount to "increase modestly," while Snap-on Inc. (SNA  ) also plans to add employees.

The shift is also reaching junior roles. Lattice CEO Sarah Franklin said some companies stopped hiring entry-level workers because they expected AI agents to take over more tasks, but are now realizing people are still needed alongside AI.

"Just because you have coding agents doesn't mean you're not hiring engineers," Franklin said.

She added that companies increasingly want younger workers with AI-native skills, saying, "There's a big thirst for that."

AI Hiring Shift

The change comes after research from Harvard Business School and INSEAD found AI-native startups were about 25% smaller than comparable companies and employed about 15% fewer entry-level workers and managers, while their share of senior workers was roughly 20% higher.

The broader labor market may also be facing a worker-supply problem. Indeed Hiring Lab economist Laura Ullrich has said Baby Boomer retirements and lower immigration could shrink the U.S. labor force, arguing that demographics remain a bigger force than AI in shaping labor availability.

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN  ) founder Jeff Bezos has offered an even stronger view, arguing that AI could eventually create a "labor shortage" by making people more productive and allowing businesses to pursue more ideas, products and industries.

The hiring rebound remains selective rather than a broad hiring boom. Robert Half Inc (RHI  ) CEO M. Keith Waddell said AI's effect on employment is proving "more benign than some have feared," while MIT professor emeritus Paul Osterman cautioned that companies still do not know whether AI will ultimately leave them needing more or fewer workers.