WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - More U.S. workers fear losing their jobs with the advancement of technology, a latest survey by Gallup shows.
Twenty seven percent of U.S. workers, a new high, worry that technology could soon make their jobs obsolete. This is up seven percentage points from last year and roughly double the 13 percent recorded when Gallup first asked the question in 2017.
The recent increase in worry about the threat of technology contrasts with workers' largely stable concern over the past year about more traditional threats to employment and income, including layoffs, reduced hours, lower wages, and benefit cuts.
The latest findings are from Gallup's Work and Education survey conducted between August 3 and 24.
The major concern regarding fear of losong their job is among college graduates, that went up sharply since 2021, the survey shows.
Over the past year, worry about technological displacement has increased among workers both with and without college degrees. It has risen six points to 25 percent among college graduates and eight points to 29 percent among non-college graduates.
The two groups' similar levels of concern about this risk are relatively new. When Gallup first measured it in 2017, college graduates were less likely than adults without a college degree to worry about technological displacement. But concern among college graduates rose sharply, from 8 percent in 2021 to 20 percent in 2023, as generative AI tools such as ChatGPT emerged. After holding steady last year, concern has risen again among both groups this year, keeping the gap slim.
At the same time, displacement fear differs for the two major age groups Gallup examined for this study - essentially those in the first and second halves of their working lives.
In 2017 and 2018, workers aged 18 to 44 and those 45 and older expressed similar levels of worry about technology making their jobs obsolete. Since then, concern among younger workers has grown, while it has been generally steady among older workers. Now, younger workers' worry exceeds older workers' by a 15-point margin (34 percent vs. 19 percent, respectively).
Although far from pervasive, workers' concern about technology making their jobs obsolete continues to rise, now surpassing several traditional job worries that typically shift with the economy, Gallup says. The increase is especially notable among younger and college-educated workers, suggesting that anxiety about technological disruption is reaching groups that may have previously felt more insulated from workplace upheaval.
A recent study, jointly conducted by Bentley University and Gallup, found that nearly eight in 10 Americans expect Artificial Intelligence to reduce the total number of jobs in the country over the next decade.
So far, workers' growing concern appears to be outpacing actual job displacement due to AI. Recent data show that AI's overall effect on U.S. employment remains modest, and the latest jobs report showed solid hiring and a steady 4.1 percent unemployment rate. Still, there are signs of weaker hiring for entry-level and junior workers in occupations most exposed to AI.
However, it is yet to be seen whether employers will choose to replace workers or use technology to refine people's roles as AI advances, according to the American multinational analytics and advisory company.
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