Career CoachingNews
Gallup: 27% of US workers now fear technology will take their job
More than a quarter of US workers now worry that technology could make their job obsolete, a record in Gallup's tracking. Among workers under 45 it is the top job concern. For career coaches, the question clients bring has shifted from promotion to relevance.
Twenty-seven percent of US workers now worry that technology could soon make their job obsolete, according to Gallup's 2026 Work and Education survey. That is the highest share Gallup has recorded, up seven points from 2025 and roughly double the 13% it measured when it first asked the question in 2017. The survey ran from Aug. 3 to 24 and was released on Sept. 15.
The worry is concentrated among younger workers. Thirty-four percent of employees aged 18 to 44 are concerned about losing their job to technology, which makes it the top job worry for workers under 45. Among workers 45 and older the share is 19%. Education matters less than it used to: concern rose six points to 25% among college graduates and eight points to 29% among workers without a degree.
The shift among graduates has been building for several years. Their concern climbed from 8% in 2021 to 20% in 2023, the period in which generative AI tools such as ChatGPT reached the mainstream.
The short version
For career coaches, the data describes the client who is likely to call next: under 45, employed, and unsure whether their skills will hold their value. The useful work is concrete. Map which tasks in the client's current role are exposed, which skills transfer, and what evidence of new skills an employer would accept. Reassurance alone does not answer the question the survey shows people are asking.
Sources
- Gallup: More U.S. Workers Fear Losing Their Jobs to Technology (September 15, 2026)news.gallup.com/poll/714368/workers-fear-losing-jobs-technolPrimary source
- UPI: More than a quarter of workers fear losing jobs to technology (September 15, 2026)upi.com/Top_News/US/2026/09/15/gallup-poll-workers-concernedTier 3
According to The Expert Index
„More than a quarter of US workers now worry that technology could make their job obsolete, a record in Gallup's tracking. Among workers under 45 it is the top job concern. For career coaches, the question clients bring has shifted from promotion to relevance.“
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