10 Dying Jobs That Are Expected To Disappear in the Next 10 Years

If you want to get ahead financially, one of the most important things you can do is make sure your career is pointed in the right direction. That means looking honestly at where the labor market is heading. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects 2024–2034 employment changes across hundreds of occupations, and the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025 adds a global perspective on which roles are at greatest risk from AI, automation, and digital disruption. Together, they paint a consistent picture: jobs built on routine, predictable tasks are disappearing fast.

Here are 10 occupations facing the steepest declines over the next decade.

Word processors and typists

Projected decline (2024–2034): -36.1%

The BLS projects this role will fall faster than any other occupation in percentage terms, shedding roughly 14,400 positions. As AI-assisted writing tools and voice recognition software become standard, the dedicated typing role has all but lost its reason to exist.

Switchboard operators, including answering service

Projected decline (2024–2034): -26.3%

Automated phone systems and AI voice assistants have reduced the need for human operators to near-zero in most industries. The BLS projects roughly 9,600 positions will disappear over the decade.

Data entry keyers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -25.9%

AI and automation now handle data capture and form processing faster and more accurately than human entry. EDsmart's 2025 analysis of AI task exposure found bookkeeping and data-processing roles among the most vulnerable, with up to 95% of tasks already automatable using current technology.

Telemarketers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -22.1%

With 96.25% of telemarketer tasks identified as automatable by AI in EDsmart's 2025 analysis — the highest exposure rate of any occupation studied — the writing has been on the wall for years. Robocalling AI and digital ad targeting are replacing the function that human telemarketers once served.

Order clerks

Projected decline (2024–2034): -17.2%

AI-based order management systems now process, confirm, and route orders without human involvement. By 2034, the BLS projects only 74,100 positions will remain in this category.

Payroll and timekeeping clerks

Projected decline (2024–2034): -16.7%

Automated payroll platforms handle calculation, compliance, and reporting with minimal human input. EDsmart's 2025 analysis found payroll and timekeeping clerks at 94% AI task exposure, meaning most of the job's core functions can already be automated.

Bank tellers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -13%

Online banking, mobile deposits, and ATM upgrades have replaced the majority of tasks tellers once performed. The WEF's Future of Jobs 2025 Report specifically names bank tellers among the roles facing the steepest global decline, a designation that aligns with every recent BLS projection cycle.

Cashiers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -10%

Cashiers represent the single largest projected job loss in absolute numbers (313,600 by 2034), driven by self-checkout expansion, app-based payments, and cashierless store technology.

Computer programmers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -6%

This one surprises people. While software development overall is growing, the BLS distinguishes between software developers (growing fast) and computer programmers — those writing code to spec from pre-defined requirements. AI coding tools are automating the latter category while demand shifts toward higher-order design and architecture roles.

Postal service clerks and mail sorters

Projected decline (2024–2034): -5%

The WEF Future of Jobs 2025 Report identifies postal service workers among one of the fastest-declining occupations globally. Email, digital billing, and declining first-class mail volume continue to shrink the base that supports this workforce.

What isn't going anywhere

The pattern across all projections is consistent: Jobs requiring physical adaptability, genuine human relationships, and embodied judgment are the most resilient.

Health care workers rank among the fastest-growing occupations in the BLS data. Tradespeople in construction, electrical, and HVAC remain resistant because their work requires physical presence and situational judgment that robots cannot replicate cost-effectively. Teachers, counselors, social workers, and therapists have roles built on human trust and contextual understanding, and aren't predicted to be going anywhere anytime soon.

Bottom line

The jobs most at risk were built around tasks that can be described, repeated, and therefore automated. AI doesn't need to be smarter than a human to eliminate a role; it just needs to be faster, cheaper, and good enough at a defined set of tasks. For workers in declining fields, the most valuable move is shifting toward skills that are genuinely hard to replicate: physical presence, relational intelligence, and complex judgment under uncertainty.

One practical consideration: remote work has become a double-edged sword for career durability. Fully remote, task-based roles are often the easiest for employers to automate or offshore, while hybrid and in-person roles that require relationship-building and situational awareness tend to be more resilient. When evaluating career moves, the nature of the work matters as much as the title on the job posting.