AI Labor Spending to Hit $3.34 Trillion by 2030, IDC Report Finds

Research body IDC has now released its Digital Labor Economy: Powered by Agentic AI  report, backed by Salesforce, with some of the first figures on digital labor being recognized. This includes the fact that cumulative digital tech labor spending is predicted to reach $3.34 trillion and generate a cumulative global economic impact of $13 trillion by 2030. 

Earlier this year, we were fully introduced to the concept of ‘digital labor’ by Salesforce – the solution to global labor shortages through the power of digital and agentic technology. Back then, it was only a blossoming term. Now? A tangible, measurable employment strategy, just as real as an all-human workforce. 

What Is Digital Labor Again?

Digital labor (DLR) refers to work that uses artificial intelligence to supplement and mimic human labor. This includes the ability to effectively make decisions, learn, and adapt to tasks.

AI, machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, and agentic AI fit within the sphere of digital labor, allowing the possibility of non-human (or virtual) employees. Within IDC’s report, the focus is on software and services that support digital labor and focus on augmenting knowledge work.

What’s the Impact? 

IDC reports that by 2030, cumulative digital tech labor spending will reach $3.34 trillion and that the cumulative economic impact will reach $13 trillion. This is also a 22% full-time equivalent workload automation. 

This year so far, the US’s largest tech companies have spent $155 billion on AI – this is more than the US government has spent on education, training, employment, and social services this year so far. By 2026, research body Gartner predicts that global AI spending will top $2 trillion – it’s safe to say that the next five years will be pivotal. 

To break this down further, IDC predicts that AI/digital labor budgets will incrementally increase year on year, with an average of 15% of a business’s budget after one year, 20% after two, and 25% after three. 

How Much Time Will Be Saved?

When it comes down to it, AI will only continue to be effective if it saves people time and money. After all, this is allegedly Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s biggest focus – harnessing the power of AI so that human workers can focus on more pertinent, long-term tasks. 

According to IDC, AI tools are estimated to save workers over 40% of their typical workday, with IT workers saving slightly more (45%) compared to line-of-business workers (39%). As a whole, the workforce expects increased productivity, automation of routine tasks, and more time for higher-value work from AI tools.

Although this does sound promising, it also makes it clear that businesses now have a decision to make. Will they be content with human employees having over 50% more time to focus on their tasks, or will they just opt to create the perfect agent for a subset of skills and tasks? 

Does This Mean More Job Cuts?

If digital labor as an employment practice works to solve a problem like the global labor shortage – as Salesforce framed it – then digital labor initiatives would largely fill in employment gaps rather than take away jobs. However, the actual outcome will likely not be as clear-cut. 

IDC reports that most workers (41%) anticipate AI will enhance their roles and make them more efficient, with only 9% expecting role elimination. Not only that, but new job creation (23%) is reportedly outpacing role elimination (14% in the last year, dropping to 12% in the next five years).

However, arguably the most interesting part of this is that by 2030, sales, marketing, and IT operations are expected to experience the greatest impact from agentic AI augmentation (more than 22% of work affected). 

This comes days before Marc Benioff made it clear that AI will not be replacing sales and that he is still hiring salespeople “in the thousands” – with 3,000-5,000 recent hires. Is Benioff hiring for short-term gains, or does he see potential for a future sales workforce that is able to genuinely deliver more with AI by its side? 

Final Thoughts

In March, Salesforce positioned itself at the forefront of the digital labor revolution, and now, over six months later, the first snippets of what this future might look like have come to fruition. 

At this stage, no matter what giants like Salesforce decide, the advice for tech businesses is clear. Companies should assess high-impact areas for agentic AI, build a strong data foundation, use transparency for governance, and prepare for a human-digital labor partnership.

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