Labor Department’s New Hub Aims to Prepare Workforce for AI

The Labor Department’s new resource hub helps education and workforce development leaders better collaborate on training initiatives, data sharing and AI literacy programs across industry and government, according to agency officials.

The AI Workforce Hub will include the AI Literacy Framework, released in February, along with other resources developed by the department and its partners, Deputy Secretary Keith Sonderling said Wednesday during an AI and education event in Washington, D.C. He said the hub is part of the department’s broader effort to promote AI literacy through industry-led standards.

“We’re really trying to work with the private sector. We’re launching the hub to be a central source for information like the literacy framework or the legal ramifications of using AI in hiring,” said Sonderling. “We’re looking for both public and private partners to share data and get information so the workforce can come to one place to learn about how AI is impacting industries.”

Reducing Workforce Fears About AI

A Gallup poll found U.S. employees’ daily use of AI increased from 4% in 2023 to 12% in 2025. Sonderling said many workers remain hesitant to adopt the technology because of a lack of “baseline AI literacy.”

“If you fear that this technology is going to take away your job, then you’re not going to use it. Then the investment that company made won’t come to fruition,” said Sonderling. “A lot of this is based upon the lack of understanding of these tools, and that lack of baseline AI literacy. That’s what we’re really trying to solve.”

Sonderling said the literacy framework and other hub resources aim to help workers better understand how AI will shape their roles.

“Every job is going to be by AI, not be replaced by AI. You’ll work side by side with AI,” said Sonderling. “We believe that AI literacy will help the next generation understand how their jobs are going to work side by side with AI, and that will get rid of some of the fear.”

Integrating AI Into the Hiring Process

A January LinkedIn report found demand for AI talent continues to grow. Global AI hiring has increased 300% over the past eight years and is expanding 30% faster than overall hiring. Sonderling said the rising demand for talent, combined with the growing use of AI tools, will reshape hiring practices. He said the Labor Department is examining how AI can be integrated safely and ethically into the hiring process.

Sonderling described a future where AI supports multiple stages of hiring, from phone screenings to final interviews. He said both employees and employers must understand their rights and responsibilities under labor laws as AI becomes more embedded in human resources processes.

During his tenure as commissioner of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Sonderling said he worked to ensure AI and workplace technologies were deployed in compliance with longstanding civil rights laws.

When designed and used correctly, he said AI can increase transparency in hiring decisions and help mitigate bias. While human decision-makers can discriminate, algorithms also reflect the data used to train them, he noted. However, those inputs can be traced and examined.

“Using these tools, working with these developers, we may have the most transparent employment decisions ever because you can show exactly what went in the algorithm,” said Sonderling. “But at the end of the day, the employer is still making that decision, and they need to comply with their policies, handbooks and with the Department of Labor’s laws.”