A report from consulting firm McKinsey & Co. found that an estimated 11 million workers, or about 6.5% of the current labor force, may have to switch occupations by 2035 as a result of automation and artificial intelligence adoption.
The report said AI could create more jobs than it eliminates over the next nine years. However, the technological innovation “may require the largest and most sustained workforce transformation in U.S. history.”
“While social media abounds with dire predictions about the impact of AI on labor, the United States is likely to have more jobs available in 2035 than today, but with fewer workers because the population is aging,” the report said.
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According to McKinsey researchers, automation could reduce labor demand by 36 million jobs by 2035, while growth in AI-related fields and the broader economy could generate demand for 40 million jobs during that period.
McKinsey noted that about 25 million of those 36 million affected workers should be able to remain in their current occupations because growth in their industries could offset the impact of automation.
“The remaining 11 million may need to switch occupations entirely,” researchers wrote in the report. “The next decade’s challenge is mobility, not scarcity.”
The findings come amid a broader transformation in the labor market. For two years, the job market has been in a “low-hire, low-fire” state, with “opportunities for the few but not the many,” according to CNN.
A separate report released Tuesday showed that job openings fell to a five-month low at the end of August, while the rate of voluntary quits, a gauge of worker confidence, remained near a six-year low. Layoffs declined for the second consecutive month. Last year’s job growth was among the weakest on record.
READ: Over 50% Americans fear job loss over AI, new poll shows (June 10, 2026)
Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, a job search and online career community site, said sluggish hiring means workers feel stuck.
“And that means that frustration and anxiety continue to build without a healthy outlet for it,” Zhao told CNN in an interview.
Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index fell to a new record low, marking the third time in the 10 years the index has been measured. Overall consumer sentiment has also remained low. Separately, the latest consumer confidence index released Tuesday fell to its lowest level in 12 years.
The Conference Board’s index, which measures Americans’ assessments of current and future economic conditions, fell 6.7 points to 81.9 amid a rise in gas prices and uncertainty surrounding the war in Iran.