Poll: More than a quarter of workers fear losing jobs to technology

Sept. 15 (UPI) — A greater number of U.S. workers fear that their job could be eliminated because of technology, a new Gallup poll released Tuesday said.

Twenty-seven percent of workers said they worry about this, a new high since the question was first asked in 2017, Gallup said. This marks an increase of seven percentage points since last year and is more than double the 13% who expressed this worry in 2017.

In contrast, worker concerns about “more traditional threats to employment and income,” such as layoffs and wage cuts, largely remained the same from last year.

“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 said. “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.”

The worries about tech displacement applied to both those and without college degrees, and the percentage difference remained small. Twenty-five percent of those with college degrees — a six percentage-point increase — and 29% of those without — an eight percentage-point increase — expressed these concerns.

At one point, college graduates were far less likely to worry about tech displacement than those who had not graduated from college, Gallup said. However, graduate worries about the matter soared from 8% in 2021 to 20% in 2023 as artificial intelligence tools were introduced.

The poll also noted two different age groups in comparison for their technology-related job concerns — those 18 to 44 and those 45 and older. The older group’s rate of concern for tech displacement has remained largely steady since the poll started in 2017. That year, it was noted at 16%, compared to 19% in 2026.

However, tech displacement worries among younger workers have climbed from 10% in 2017 to 34% in 2026. This includes an increase from 26% in 2025.

More traditional job worries were led by concerns about benefit reductions at 33% of workers, followed by concerns about layoffs at 24% and reduced wages and hours at 21% each.

Younger workers were more likely than those in the older category to worry about all the noted job threats, except for benefit reductions, Gallup said.

Gallup surveyed 1,200 adults between Aug. 3-24 with a 3% margin of error.