Recruitment Data Suggests AI Has Yet to Hurt Hiring of Coders in China

Kanzhun Ltd., the operator of Chinese online recruitment service Boss Zhipin, said that active job postings for software engineers on its platform rose 10.9% year-on-year in the first four months of 2026, alleviating fears that the widening use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology is triggering a sharp pullback in programmer hiring.

The figure suggests that AI’s impact on China’s labor market may be more gradual and complex than fears of widespread job displacement imply. While demand for AI-related positions grows, hiring for traditional roles like software engineer remains resilient.