3 Million Jobs at Risk by 2035: AI Layoff Wave
A UK National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) study projects AI displacing around 3 million jobs by 2035, primarily in administrative, secretarial, customer service, trading, and machine operation roles, as adoption accelerates three times faster than initial forecasts amid rapid tech advances. While 2.3 million new high-skilled positions emerge in engineering, science, and education, the net loss hits low/mid-skill workers hardest, exacerbating inequality without urgent reskilling.
High-Risk Sectors and Occupations
AI excels at routine tasks, targeting "high-risk declining" jobs where automation handles 70-90% of duties: admin/secretarial (data entry, scheduling), customer service (chatbots resolving 80% queries), trading (algo execution), and machine ops (predictive maintenance). Fresh graduates face entry barriers as AI tackles clerical work sans qualifications; experienced veterans risk obsolescence, with transitions 3x quicker than projected, per NFER's labor market analysis.
Job Creation vs. Displacement Gap
New roles (2.3M) cluster in high-skill domains—engineers (productivity boost), scientists (AI oversight), educators (reskilling)—but demand collaboration, creative thinking, info literacy, planning, and problem-solving as "essential skills." Short-term workloads rise with AI augmentation, yet low-skill pivots prove challenging; without intervention, disparity widens, mirroring global trends where AI favors STEM over service jobs.
Policy and Workforce Implications
NFER urges immediate retraining, echoing Jensen Huang's push against AI-averse cultures; India faces amplified risks in BPO/IT services (25% GDP exposure), demanding upskilling via Labour Codes or gig platforms. Globally, hedge fund warnings highlight AI's control risks, but productivity gains could offset losses if governments prioritize transitions—failure risks mass unemployment and inequality spikes by 2035
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