March 4, 2026 – Side Hustles released the findings of its survey on how workers feel about the job market in 2026, particularly focusing on what they think about AI tools that automate the job application process for both candidates and businesses.
Key findings
- Most workers (84%) are willing to use AI tools to apply for jobs, and over one-third (37%) would submit an AI-written resume.
- More than half (54%) think it’s unfair for companies to ban applicants from using AI while also using AI to automatically screen resumes.
- 44% think it’s OK to inflate details on your resume to get past the AI screening stage.
- More people believe AI systems are likely to be biased against candidates due to their ethnicity, gender, or age than believe that about human hiring managers.
- 58% of workers believe that AI is making the market more challenging for job seekers.
- Men are almost uniformly more comfortable with AI’s role in the job market than women.




