For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, August 27, 2026 USDL-26-1422
Technical information: (202) 691-5700 * ep-info@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/emp
Media contact: (202) 691-5902 * PressOffice@bls.gov
EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS - 2025-2035
The U.S. economy is projected to add 5.9 million jobs from 2025 to 2035, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Total employment is projected to increase from 170.3 million
to 176.2 million and grow 3.5 percent, which is slower than the 10.9 percent growth recorded
over the 2015-25 decade.
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| |
| New Artificial Intelligence Exposure Categories |
| |
| Alongside the 2025-35 projections, BLS is introducing a new data product that provides |
| information about how occupations compare to one another based on their theoretical and |
| observed exposure to artificial intelligence (AI). More information about the AI exposure |
| categories can be found on release day at |
| www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm. |
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Major Industry Sector Employment
Utilities is projected to have the fastest job growth (+9.8 percent) of all major industry
sectors over the 2025-35 decade. However, this fast growth is projected to account for an
increase of only 58,800 new jobs because of the sector's relatively small employment size.
Nearly all the job growth is expected from electric power generation, transmission, and
distribution due to increasing demand for electricity, including artificial intelligence
(AI) power demands.
The private healthcare and social assistance (+9.5 percent) major industry sector is projected
to add the most jobs of any sector, over 2.2 million over the projections period, and is
projected to be the second fastest growing major industry sector. This strong growth is
expected to account for about 37.0 percent of all new jobs projected to be added through 2035.
Strong employment growth is expected to stem from both the aging population and the increasing
prevalence of chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Demand for AI-based systems, research and development, and associated consulting services is
expected to drive the need for workers in professional, scientific, and technical services.
This major industry sector is projected to be the third fastest growing sector (+8.6 percent)
over the projections period. This fast growth is projected to result in 926,700 new jobs, the
second largest job growth of any sector.
Employment in federal government (-3.4 percent) and retail trade (-0.2 percent) is projected
to decline from 2025 to 2035. Retail trade is projected to lose about 27,500 jobs over the
projections period, as e-commerce is expected to continue limiting employment in retail
outlets. However, the growing volume of online purchases and therefore increasing volume of
shipments and deliveries are expected to support employment growth in transportation and
warehousing (+3.1 percent).
Fastest Growing Employment in Detailed Industries
The overall demand for electricity is expected to increase over the projections period due in
large part to AI adoption and demand for related infrastructure, such as data centers.
Consequently, projected employment growth in 4 out of the 10 fastest growing industries is
expected to be driven, in large part, by demand for electricity. The solar, wind, and
geothermal electric power generation industries are projected to be the fastest growing
detailed industries. However, because of their relatively small employment size, these
industries, when combined with the other electric power generation industry, are projected to
add only about 35,800 jobs over the projections period.
Accelerated AI adoption is also expected to support employment growth in the computing
infrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services industry. As a
result, this industry is projected to grow 25.1 percent and add 120,400 new jobs over the
projections period.
Other electrical equipment and component manufacturing, which includes production of batteries
used for energy storage and in electric vehicles, is projected to grow 25.9 percent from 2025
to 2035. Rising demand for fiber optic cables, used for the transmission of data across AI
infrastructure and in telecommunications infrastructure, is also expected to contribute to
strong employment growth in this industry.
Four of the 10 industries where employment is projected to grow the fastest over the 2025-35
projections period are related to the private healthcare and social assistance major industry
sector. Among these, services for the elderly and persons with disabilities is projected to
add 625,400 new jobs from 2025 to 2035, the most of any detailed industry. Increased demand
for home-based care is expected to contribute to this growth.
Occupational Employment
In line with the fast job growth expected in the private healthcare and social assistance
major industry sector, three related occupational groups are projected to experience strong
employment growth over the 2025-35 decade. These are the healthcare support, healthcare
practitioners and technical, and community and social service occupational groups, all of
which are projected to be among the five fastest growing groups in the economy from 2025 to
2035.
Of all 22 major occupational groups, the healthcare support and healthcare practitioners and
technical groups are projected to grow the fastest, with employment growing 13.3 percent and
8.0 percent, respectively, over the projections decade. These two healthcare groups combined
are expected to account for almost one-third of all new jobs created through 2035.
Because the likelihood of experiencing health complications increases with age, the aging
population is expected to boost demand for a wide variety of healthcare and social services,
including home health and personal care services. Moreover, given the high prevalence of
chronic diseases and behavioral health disorders in the general population, the demand to
diagnose, treat, and manage these conditions is expected to grow through 2035.
As a result, strong job growth is expected in the occupations that provide or help provide
these services, including physical therapist assistants, occupational therapy assistants,
psychiatric technicians, and ophthalmic medical technicians, all of which rank among the 10
fastest growing detailed occupations from 2025 to 2035. This demand is also expected to result
in an increased need for community and social service occupations, which are projected to be
the fourth fastest occupational group (+7.4 percent). Notably, nurse practitioners is
projected to experience the fastest employment growth of all detailed occupations
(+41.0 percent), reflecting the central role this occupation plays in providing care under
collaborative, team-based models of care.
Life, physical, and social science occupations are projected to experience the third-fastest
job growth of any major occupational group (+7.5 percent), growing more than twice as fast as
the all-occupation average (+3.5 percent). The growing demand for scientific research and
development in a wide range of fields, most notably in biotechnology, manufacturing, and AI,
is the main factor expected to drive strong employment demand in this group.
Computer and mathematical occupations are projected to be the fifth fastest growing major
occupational group (+7.3 percent). Fast job growth in these occupations is expected to largely
stem from the continued proliferation of digital tools and AI solutions across the economy.
Ranking among the top 10 fastest growing detailed occupations are data scientists (+34.6
percent) and computer and information research scientists (+21.8 percent), which will be in
demand to develop, improve, and leverage these technologies to enhance business operations and
aid decision making.
Electricity demand is expected to grow significantly over the projections decade, leading to
strong employment growth for solar photovoltaic installers (+36.5 percent) and wind turbine
service technicians (+29.5 percent), both of which rank among the five fastest growing
occupations from 2025 to 2035. Despite their fast projected growth, the two occupations
combined are projected to add fewer than 15,000 new jobs by 2035. As solar and wind power
generation continues to expand, strong demand is expected for solar photovoltaic installers
and wind turbine service technicians to install solar panels and to repair and maintain wind
turbines, respectively.
Although the growing adoption of AI is expected to support demand for some occupations,
associated productivity gains may dampen employment demand for others. The use of generative
AI software, which can be leveraged to automate repetitive tasks and speed up certain
processes, may limit demand for some jobs in the arts, design, entertainment, sports, and
media occupational group. Similarly, the continued integration of automation tools, including
those powered by AI, into workflows is likely to reduce demand for several office and
administrative support occupations. This occupational group is projected to decline at the
fastest pace (-4.0 percent) and to shed 752,100 jobs over the 2025-35 decade, the most of any
major occupational group. Additionally, further growth of e-commerce and incorporation of AI
tools into the sales process are expected to continue contributing to job loss in the sales
and related occupational group (-1.4 percent). Lastly, the continued deployment of automated
machinery and processes in manufacturing operations is expected to reduce labor needs across
production occupations (-0.4 percent).
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| |
| Interpreting the Employment Projections |
| |
| The Employment Projections (EP) program estimates specific values for projected employment |
| levels and employment changes. However, this precision in the data does not account for |
| the inherent uncertainty of predicting long-term changes in the labor market. Focusing on |
| the direction and relative size of projected changes, rather than on the precise value |
| estimates, may yield similar insights into employment trends and themes across occupations |
| and industries. |
| |
| The EP program also conducts research on factors that are expected to affect employment, |
| which may not be reflected in historical data, such as emerging technologies and new |
| legislation. Adjustments based on this research are generally applied conservatively, such |
| as when there is convincing evidence for a long-term structural change. |
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More Information
--Detailed information on the 2025-35 industry and occupational employment projections will
appear in a separate Monthly Labor Review article, to be published later in 2026.
--The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) includes information on about 600 detailed
occupations in over 300 occupational profiles, covering about 4 out of 5 jobs in the
economy. Each occupational profile features the 2025-35 projections, along with assessments
of the job outlook, work activities, wages, education and training requirements, and more.
--The OOH is available online at www.bls.gov/ooh.
--Field of degree pages are available online at www.bls.gov/ooh/field-of-degree/home.htm.
--Information about the importance of various skills by occupation can be found at
www.bls.gov/emp/data/skills-data.htm.
--Descriptions of the classification systems and projections methods used can be found on the
Employments Projections Methods Overview page at www.bls.gov/emp/methods-overview.htm.
--Tables with detailed, comprehensive projections data are available online at
www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm.
--Definitions for terms used in this news release are available in the BLS Glossary at
www.bls.gov/bls/glossary.htm.
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