The increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies has caused unease among workers worried about potential job losses. This concern has spread especially among those employed in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, covering roles such as software developers and data scientists, among others. According to AI research firm Anthropic, this sector has one of the highest rates of generative AI use on the job.
However, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest research suggests the tech workers' fears may not be entirely justified. The study anticipates employment in the professional, scientific, and technical services sector will grow by 10.5% from 2023 to 2033, a rate more than twice the national average.
While AI is highly skilled at coding and related tasks, the BLS emphasizes that the effect of AI on tech-sector employment is hard to determine definitively. One reason is the increasing reliance on digital systems, which is expected to ramp up the demand for software developers, data managers, and similar professionals to oversee these systems.
BLS researchers note, "Although it's possible that productivity improvements driven by AI could outstrip ongoing labor demand, there's currently no solid evidence to back this claim." The fastest employment growth in this sector is foreseen in the computer systems design industry, projected to surge nearly 20% over the decade. One of the key driving factors behind this is the ongoing adoption of cutting-edge technologies like AI.
Looking at specific roles, the BLS expects the fastest employment growth to be for data scientists, with a projected increase of almost 42%. Information security analysts and computer and information research scientists also feature in the list of fast-growing tech occupations, set to swell by 41% and 32%, respectively.