New BLS data shows word processors, switchboard operators and other roles facing steep declines
Word processors and typists are projected to lose more than a third of their workforce by 2035, the steepest decline of any occupation the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS )tracks and a preview of where automation is cutting deepest over the next decade.
Here are the twelve most predicted jobs for which people will notice a decline.
The new BLS forecast for the years between 2025 and 2035 ranks word processor and typist as the occupations facing the biggest decline, which is 34.4%, due to machine learning programmes replacing manual work.
Next are telephone operator (27.6%), switchboard operator (26%) and data-entry keyer (25.5%). All of these occupations fall under the category of 206 jobs with very high vulnerability to AI, according to the BLS.
Foundry mould and coremakers (-23%) and metal and plastic patternmakers (-22.8%) are also projected to shrink significantly, a trend BLS attributes largely to businesses adopting 3D printing over traditional casting and pattern-making methods.
Telemarketing workers will see a reduction of 21.4%, according to the BLS, because of the expansion of the Do Not Call list by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as well as a trend towards the use of digital media. Roof bolter-miners, on the other hand, are expected to reduce by 18.9%.
Order clerks (-17.5%), printing binding and finishing occupations (-17.5%), hand cutters and trimmers (-18.9%), and hand grinding and polishing workers (-19.2%) bring up the rear.
Importantly, it should be pointed out that the majority of the above-mentioned twelve jobs receive wages less than the 2025 median annual wage of $50,980, implying that the biggest losses for the labour force are not distributed equally but are highly concentrated among lower-paying occupations.