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15 Dying Jobs That Are Expected to Disappear in the Next 15 Years

AI and automation are reshaping the future of these careers.

By Josh Koebert , Edited by Calista Headrick

Updated Sept. 3, 2026

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One of the most reliable ways to build real wealth over a career is to stay ahead of structural shifts in the labor market rather than be caught by them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects total U.S. employment to grow 3.1% from 2024 to 2034, but that overall growth masks sharp losses in specific occupations where automation, AI, and self-service technology are doing the same work faster and at lower cost. Over a 15-year window, those trends only compound.

That doesn't mean these occupations will vanish overnight. But over the next 15 years, workers in some fields could face fewer opportunities and greater competition for the jobs that remain. Here are 15 dying jobs expected to decline significantly, along with what's driving the change and what workers should know.

Editor's note: All salary data comes from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), unless otherwise stated.

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Word processors and typists

Projected decline (2024–2034): -36%

The fastest-shrinking occupation in percentage terms on the entire BLS list. AI writing tools, voice-to-text software, and large language models have absorbed the core function of the role entirely. The BLS projects roughly 14,400 positions eliminated over the decade, and the 15-year trajectory points toward near-extinction.

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Switchboard operators

Projected decline (2024–2034): -27%

Automated call routing, AI voice assistants, and app-based communication have made human telephone operators largely redundant in most industries. The BLS flags this as among the fastest-declining occupations by percentage, with demand continuing to narrow as the remaining use cases shift to automated systems.

Data entry keyers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -26%

The BLS projects a 26% decline, representing roughly 37,000 eliminated positions. Documents are increasingly scanned, imported, and transferred between systems without retyping. AI data capture tools now handle form processing and database updates with higher accuracy than human entry. The residual demand will concentrate in roles that require error correction and exception handling, not volume entry.

Telemarketers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -22%

AI outreach tools, robocalling software, and digital ad targeting now perform the core function of telemarketing at greater scale and lower cost. The human telemarketer role has been narrowing for years and is expected to continue shrinking.

Postal service clerks and mail sorters

Projected decline (2024–2034): -5%

The WEF Future of Jobs 2025 Report ranks postal service workers as the single fastest-declining role globally in percentage terms by 2030. Email, digital billing, and a decade of declining first-class mail volume have steadily contracted the base that supports this workforce. Automated sorting facilities have reduced labor requirements further. The 15-year picture compounds all three pressures simultaneously.

Cashiers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -10%

Cashiers face the largest projected absolute job loss of any occupation in the United States — approximately 313,600 positions by 2034, driven by self-checkout expansion, app-based payments, and cashierless store technology. Retailers are scaling autonomous checkout faster than the labor market can absorb the displaced workers, and the trajectory over 15 years points toward the role becoming a specialty rather than a common entry-level position.

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Bank tellers

Projected decline (2024–2034): -13%

Online and mobile banking have eliminated the need for most customers to visit a branch for any routine transaction. Many large banks have already dramatically reduced branch footprints. AI-powered customer service tools handle the inquiries that used to route to a human teller.

Insurance underwriters

Projected decline (2024–2034): -3%

Automated underwriting platforms now evaluate applications, assign risk ratings, and render coverage decisions without human review. The 15-year window allows that process to run significantly further.

Order clerks

Projected decline (2024–2034): -17%

AI-based order management systems process, confirm, and route orders without human involvement. Online ordering platforms have absorbed the function that order clerks once provided across retail, wholesale, and manufacturing.

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News analysts, reporters, and journalists

Projected decline (2024–2034): -4%

The BLS projects a 4% decline in employment for news analysts, reporters, and journalists through 2034, driven by two reinforcing pressures. Declining advertising revenue in newspapers, radio, and television has forced staff consolidations across legacy newsrooms for more than a decade. AI writing tools have now accelerated that pressure by automating the production of templated content — earnings summaries, sports scores, weather reports, and data-driven articles that once required a human to write.

Customer service representatives

Projected decline (2024–2034): -5%

AI chatbots and voice agents now handle the majority of tier-one customer service inquiries at companies that have deployed them, and adoption is accelerating across industries. The BLS projects a 5% decline, representing about 153,000 fewer positions by 2034. The human role is narrowing toward complex escalations that AI cannot yet resolve, which is a smaller category than the full customer service function.

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks

Projected decline (2024–2034): -6%

The BLS groups these roles together and projects a 6% decline through 2034. Cloud-based accounting platforms and AI-assisted reconciliation tools have automated the transactional layer of bookkeeping. The function that remains requires judgment and advisory capacity rather than data entry.

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Office clerks

Projected decline (2024–2034): -7%

Office clerks as a whole are projected to decline 7% by 2034. Digital workflow tools, document management platforms, and AI scheduling assistants have replaced the administrative support functions that sustained high office clerk employment in prior decades.

Power plant operators and distributors

Projected decline (2024–2034): -10%

The BLS projects a 10% decline in employment for power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers through 2034, driven by two converging forces: plant-level automation that reduces the staffing needed to monitor and control generating equipment, and the ongoing transition away from nuclear and fossil fuel electricity generation toward renewables.

Computer programmers (entry-level and template-based)

Projected decline (2024–2034): -6%

The BLS distinguishes between software developers — whose employment is expanding rapidly — and computer programmers who write code to spec from pre-defined requirements, and it is the latter category that is declining. AI coding tools now translate requirements directly into working code with increasing reliability. The entry-level programming role that involves writing standard functions and boilerplate is the most directly substitutable, and the 15-year window allows those tools to mature significantly further.

The broader picture: Work is shifting, not disappearing

The BLS projects total U.S. employment to grow 3.1% from 2024 to 2034, adding millions of net new positions. Much of that growth is expected in health care and technology, including strong demand for home health aides, software developers, data scientists, and workers with AI-related skills.

The jobs most at risk tend to involve predictable, rule-based tasks that technology can easily automate. But that doesn't mean workers in these fields have to start over. Skills such as client communication, problem-solving, quality control, and managing automated systems can transfer to growing roles. For example, a bookkeeping clerk who learns to configure and oversee accounting software may be better positioned than one focused primarily on entering transactions.

Bottom line

These 15 occupations are declining as technology makes many routine tasks faster and cheaper to automate. Workers who act early can adapt by learning new skills or moving into related roles that still require human judgment.

If you want to get ahead financially, focus on growing skills that are in demand within your industry. The goal isn't necessarily to start over, but to shift your experience toward work with a stronger future.

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