Employment Projections: 2025-2035 Summary\r

\nFor release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Thursday, August 27, 2026                                  USDL-26-1422\r\n\r\nTechnical information:  (202) 691-5700  *  ep-info@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/emp\r\nMedia contact:          (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov\r\n\r\n\r\n                             EMPLOYMENT PROJECTIONS - 2025-2035\r\n\r\n\r\nThe U.S. economy is projected to add 5.9 million jobs from 2025 to 2035, the U.S. Bureau of\r\nLabor Statistics reported today. Total employment is projected to increase from 170.3 million\r\nto 176.2 million and grow 3.5 percent, which is slower than the 10.9 percent growth recorded\r\nover the 2015-25 decade.\r\n\r\n _____________________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|                                                                                             |\r\n|                       New Artificial Intelligence Exposure Categories                       |\r\n|                                                                                             |\r\n| Alongside the 2025-35 projections, BLS is introducing a new data product that provides      |\r\n| information about how occupations compare to one another based on their theoretical and     |\r\n| observed exposure to artificial intelligence (AI). More information about the AI exposure   |\r\n| categories can be found on release day at                                                   |\r\n| www.bls.gov/emp/publications/ai-exposure-categories.htm.                                    |\r\n|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\nMajor Industry Sector Employment\r\n\r\nUtilities is projected to have the fastest job growth (+9.8 percent) of all major industry\r\nsectors over the 2025-35 decade. However, this fast growth is projected to account for an\r\nincrease of only 58,800 new jobs because of the sector's relatively small employment size. \r\nNearly all the job growth is expected from electric power generation, transmission, and\r\ndistribution due to increasing demand for electricity, including artificial intelligence\r\n(AI) power demands.\r\n\r\nThe private healthcare and social assistance (+9.5 percent) major industry sector is projected\r\nto add the most jobs of any sector, over 2.2 million over the projections period, and is\r\nprojected to be the second fastest growing major industry sector. This strong growth is\r\nexpected to account for about 37.0 percent of all new jobs projected to be added through 2035.\r\nStrong employment growth is expected to stem from both the aging population and the increasing\r\nprevalence of chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.\r\n\r\nDemand for AI-based systems, research and development, and associated consulting services is\r\nexpected to drive the need for workers in professional, scientific, and technical services.\r\nThis major industry sector is projected to be the third fastest growing sector (+8.6 percent)\r\nover the projections period. This fast growth is projected to result in 926,700 new jobs, the\r\nsecond largest job growth of any sector.\r\n\r\nEmployment in federal government (-3.4 percent) and retail trade (-0.2 percent) is projected\r\nto decline from 2025 to 2035. Retail trade is projected to lose about 27,500 jobs over the\r\nprojections period, as e-commerce is expected to continue limiting employment in retail\r\noutlets. However, the growing volume of online purchases and therefore increasing volume of\r\nshipments and deliveries are expected to support employment growth in transportation and\r\nwarehousing (+3.1 percent).\r\n\r\nFastest Growing Employment in Detailed Industries\r\n\r\nThe overall demand for electricity is expected to increase over the projections period due in\r\nlarge part to AI adoption and demand for related infrastructure, such as data centers.\r\nConsequently, projected employment growth in 4 out of the 10 fastest growing industries is\r\nexpected to be driven, in large part, by demand for electricity. The solar, wind, and\r\ngeothermal electric power generation industries are projected to be the fastest growing\r\ndetailed industries. However, because of their relatively small employment size, these\r\nindustries, when combined with the other electric power generation industry, are projected to\r\nadd only about 35,800 jobs over the projections period.\r\n\r\nAccelerated AI adoption is also expected to support employment growth in the computing\r\ninfrastructure providers, data processing, web hosting, and related services industry. As a\r\nresult, this industry is projected to grow 25.1 percent and add 120,400 new jobs over the\r\nprojections period.\r\n\r\nOther electrical equipment and component manufacturing, which includes production of batteries\r\nused for energy storage and in electric vehicles, is projected to grow 25.9 percent from 2025\r\nto 2035. Rising demand for fiber optic cables, used for the transmission of data across AI\r\ninfrastructure and in telecommunications infrastructure, is also expected to contribute to\r\nstrong employment growth in this industry. \r\n\r\nFour of the 10 industries where employment is projected to grow the fastest over the 2025-35\r\nprojections period are related to the private healthcare and social assistance major industry\r\nsector. Among these, services for the elderly and persons with disabilities is projected to\r\nadd 625,400 new jobs from 2025 to 2035, the most of any detailed industry. Increased demand\r\nfor home-based care is expected to contribute to this growth.\r\n\r\nOccupational Employment\r\n\r\nIn line with the fast job growth expected in the private healthcare and social assistance\r\nmajor industry sector, three related occupational groups are projected to experience strong\r\nemployment growth over the 2025-35 decade. These are the healthcare support, healthcare\r\npractitioners and technical, and community and social service occupational groups, all of\r\nwhich are projected to be among the five fastest growing groups in the economy from 2025 to\r\n2035.\r\n\r\nOf all 22 major occupational groups, the healthcare support and healthcare practitioners and\r\ntechnical groups are projected to grow the fastest, with employment growing 13.3 percent and\r\n8.0 percent, respectively, over the projections decade. These two healthcare groups combined\r\nare expected to account for almost one-third of all new jobs created through 2035.\r\n\r\nBecause the likelihood of experiencing health complications increases with age, the aging\r\npopulation is expected to boost demand for a wide variety of healthcare and social services,\r\nincluding home health and personal care services. Moreover, given the high prevalence of\r\nchronic diseases and behavioral health disorders in the general population, the demand to\r\ndiagnose, treat, and manage these conditions is expected to grow through 2035. \r\n\r\nAs a result, strong job growth is expected in the occupations that provide or help provide\r\nthese services, including physical therapist assistants, occupational therapy assistants, \r\npsychiatric technicians, and ophthalmic medical technicians, all of which rank among the 10 \r\nfastest growing detailed occupations from 2025 to 2035. This demand is also expected to result\r\nin an increased need for community and social service occupations, which are projected to be\r\nthe fourth fastest occupational group (+7.4 percent). Notably, nurse practitioners is\r\nprojected to experience the fastest employment growth of all detailed occupations \r\n(+41.0 percent), reflecting the central role this occupation plays in providing care under\r\ncollaborative, team-based models of care.\r\n\r\nLife, physical, and social science occupations are projected to experience the third-fastest\r\njob growth of any major occupational group (+7.5 percent), growing more than twice as fast as\r\nthe all-occupation average (+3.5 percent). The growing demand for scientific research and\r\ndevelopment in a wide range of fields, most notably in biotechnology, manufacturing, and AI,\r\nis the main factor expected to drive strong employment demand in this group.\r\n\r\nComputer and mathematical occupations are projected to be the fifth fastest growing major\r\noccupational group (+7.3 percent). Fast job growth in these occupations is expected to largely\r\nstem from the continued proliferation of digital tools and AI solutions across the economy.\r\nRanking among the top 10 fastest growing detailed occupations are data scientists (+34.6 \r\npercent) and computer and information research scientists (+21.8 percent), which will be in\r\ndemand to develop, improve, and leverage these technologies to enhance business operations and\r\naid decision making.\r\n\r\nElectricity demand is expected to grow significantly over the projections decade, leading to\r\nstrong employment growth for solar photovoltaic installers (+36.5 percent) and wind turbine\r\nservice technicians (+29.5 percent), both of which rank among the five fastest growing\r\noccupations from 2025 to 2035. Despite their fast projected growth, the two occupations\r\ncombined are projected to add fewer than 15,000 new jobs by 2035. As solar and wind power\r\ngeneration continues to expand, strong demand is expected for solar photovoltaic installers\r\nand wind turbine service technicians to install solar panels and to repair and maintain wind\r\nturbines, respectively.\r\n\r\nAlthough the growing adoption of AI is expected to support demand for some occupations,\r\nassociated productivity gains may dampen employment demand for others. The use of generative\r\nAI software, which can be leveraged to automate repetitive tasks and speed up certain\r\nprocesses, may limit demand for some jobs in the arts, design, entertainment, sports, and\r\nmedia occupational group. Similarly, the continued integration of automation tools, including\r\nthose powered by AI, into workflows is likely to reduce demand for several office and\r\nadministrative support occupations. This occupational group is projected to decline at the\r\nfastest pace (-4.0 percent) and to shed 752,100 jobs over the 2025-35 decade, the most of any\r\nmajor occupational group. Additionally, further growth of e-commerce and incorporation of AI\r\ntools into the sales process are expected to continue contributing to job loss in the sales\r\nand related occupational group (-1.4 percent). Lastly, the continued deployment of automated\r\nmachinery and processes in manufacturing operations is expected to reduce labor needs across\r\nproduction occupations (-0.4 percent).\r\n\r\n _____________________________________________________________________________________________\r\n|                                                                                             |\r\n|                        Interpreting the Employment Projections                              |\r\n|                                                                                             |\r\n| The Employment Projections (EP) program estimates specific values for projected employment  |\r\n| levels and employment changes. However, this precision in the data does not account for     |\r\n| the inherent uncertainty of predicting long-term changes in the labor market. Focusing on   |\r\n| the direction and relative size of projected changes, rather than on the precise value      |\r\n| estimates, may yield similar insights into employment trends and themes across occupations  |\r\n| and industries.                                                                             |\r\n|                                                                                             |\r\n| The EP program also conducts research on factors that are expected to affect employment,    |\r\n| which may not be reflected in historical data, such as emerging technologies and new        |\r\n| legislation. Adjustments based on this research are generally applied conservatively, such  |\r\n| as when there is convincing evidence for a long-term structural change.                     |\r\n|_____________________________________________________________________________________________|\r\n\r\n\r\nMore Information\r\n\r\n --Detailed information on the 2025-35 industry and occupational employment projections will\r\n   appear in a separate Monthly Labor Review article, to be published later in 2026.\r\n\r\n --The Occupational Outlook Handbook (OOH) includes information on about 600 detailed\r\n   occupations in over 300 occupational profiles, covering about 4 out of 5 jobs in the\r\n   economy. Each occupational profile features the 2025-35 projections, along with assessments\r\n   of the job outlook, work activities, wages, education and training requirements, and more. \r\n\r\n --The OOH is available online at www.bls.gov/ooh.\r\n\r\n --Field of degree pages are available online at www.bls.gov/ooh/field-of-degree/home.htm.  \r\n\r\n --Information about the importance of various skills by occupation can be found at\r\n   www.bls.gov/emp/data/skills-data.htm. \r\n\r\n --Descriptions of the classification systems and projections methods used can be found on the\r\n   Employments Projections Methods Overview page at www.bls.gov/emp/methods-overview.htm. \r\n\r\n --Tables with detailed, comprehensive projections data are available online at \r\n   www.bls.gov/emp/tables.htm.\r\n\r\n --Definitions for terms used in this news release are available in the BLS Glossary at\r\n   www.bls.gov/bls/glossary.htm. \r\n\r\nIf you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 7-1-1 to access\r\ntelecommunications relay services.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
\n\n\n
Employment Projections: 2025-2035 Technical Note\r
HTML version of the entire news release
\n\n
The PDF version of the news release
Table of Contents
\nLast Modified Date: August 27, 2026\n
\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t
\r\n\t