The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation is reshaping industries worldwide, driving profound changes in the labor market. According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, we’re looking at a massive transformation, with about 92 million jobs expected to be displaced and 170 million new jobs to be created by 2030.
As machines increasingly take over repetitive and predictable tasks, certain occupations are vanishing faster than others. This list explores the top 15 jobs most at risk of disappearing in the coming years, highlighting the impact of technology and the opportunities for adaptation in a rapidly evolving world.
15. Telemarketers
Remember those dinner-interrupting phone calls and the ones you get just when you’re trying to finish a dozen tasks all at the same time? With robocalls and chatbots taking over, this very thankless job that everybody universally loves to hate will soon be overtaken by AI.
Once numbering in the hundreds of thousands, telephone operators are largely being replaced by automated directory systems, digital switchboards, and voice recognition technology. Call centers are shrinking as companies implement digital-first customer service strategies that require fewer human agents. If things are as grim as they seem, telemarketers will eventually have to hang up their headsets for good.
14. Legal secretaries
As law firms digitize and streamline operations, this job role is becoming quite a rare thing if the Future of Jobs Report 2025 is anything to go by. It requires proficiency in legal terminology, organizational skills, and attention to detail, with responsibilities typically including preparing legal documents, managing schedules, conducting research, organizing case files, and facilitating communication between attorneys and clients.
However, AI-powered tools like case management software, digital filing systems, and AI-driven scheduling have reduced the demand for human involvement in these tasks. As law firms increasingly adopt technology to improve efficiency, the need for legal secretaries is diminishing, placing this occupation among those at risk of significant displacement by 2030.
Point to be noted: While automation is reducing the demand for legal secretaries, it is important to note that AI cannot fully replace human judgment or interpersonal skills required in certain aspects of legal work, so it remains to be seen what this job role is going to look like in the future. The ideal scenario would perhaps include opportunities for adaptation and collaboration between human expertise and AI tech.
13. Legal officials
Legal officials who are tasked with compliance, contract review, or litigation support—are seeing parts of their roles automated by AI-driven tools like e-discovery software and contract analysis platforms.
While strategic legal expertise remains in demand, routine tasks such as document review or due diligence are increasingly handled by machines. Legal professionals who fail to adapt to these technological advancements risk being left behind.
12. Claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators
As AI algorithms get better at detecting fraud, crunching numbers, assessing risks, and processing claims, these jobs are facing an uncertain future. While exact numbers are unclear, patterns suggest that machines might soon be adjusting more than just our insurance premiums.
Points for consideration: While technology may reduce the demand for entry-level roles in claims processing, it also creates opportunities for adjusters to specialize in areas requiring human skills, including human judgment, negotiation skills, and empathy. Therefore, while these jobs face disruption from automation (as is rightly noted by the Future of Jobs Report 2025), they are not disappearing entirely but evolving alongside technological advancements.
11. Graphic designers
While traditional graphic design jobs are declining, it’s mainly the cookie-cutter stuff; those with a unique artistic flair will still find their skills in demand. With AI-powered design tools, automation, and changing employer expectations on the rise, designers need to adapt or risk becoming as outdated.
Nuance to be noted: Many designers are adapting by focusing on niches like UX/UI design, freelancing, or integrating AI into their workflows to stay competitive.
In the age of online shopping, caller IDs, and digital news consumption, these street-pounding professions are becoming as rare as a phone booth. While specific numbers are hard to come by, the writing’s on the wall (or rather, on your smartphone screen).
Interesting aside: While street vendors remain an important part of the informal economy in many regions, their operations face challenges such as regulatory restrictions, harassment, and competition from formal retail outlets. However, the rise of social media has enabled some street food vendors to thrive by leveraging digital platforms for marketing and customer engagement.
9. Transportation attendants and conductors
With self-service kiosks and streamlined ticketing systems improving efficiency, reducing wait times, and lowering operational costs, these jobs are reaching the end of the line. While the numbers aren’t available, the trend is clear.
However, it’s worth noting that automation often redistributes labor rather than eliminating it entirely, with some workers transitioning to roles such as customer service or technical support for these systems.
8. Material recording and stock-keeping clerks
It looks like robots are the new stock boys and girls. Even though e-commerce is booming, automation tools like barcode scanners, autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), drones, and AI systems are taking over warehouses (only to a certain extent, for now). With about 2 million jobs at risk, these technologies are replacing manual inventory management and repetitive tasks, including material recording and stock keeping.
While it is true that automation is eliminating certain roles in the warehouse industry, it is also creating new opportunities that require advanced skills in robotics, AI, and data analytics.
7. Accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll clerks
With automated accounting software becoming increasingly sophisticated and AI-powered financial tools handling everything from expense tracking to tax preparation, traditional bookkeeping roles are disappearing. These AI tools are handling tasks that once required teams of bookkeepers to finish.
These systems can also process transactions, reconcile accounts, and generate financial reports with minimal human oversight, putting standard accounting and payroll clerks on the endangered jobs list. The human touch is being reserved for higher-level financial analysis and strategy.
Traditional print media may not be dead, but it’s certainly on life support. As digital media continues to dominate, demand for printed materials—and the workers who produce them—has plummeted. Newspapers, magazines, and other print industries have been hit the hardest by this shift. From newspaper press operators to magazine layout specialists, these jobs are expected to decline by 20% in the next five years (according to the World Economic Forum).
Where is this heading? The aging workforce and lack of interest among younger generations in pursuing careers in traditional printing exacerbate the decline. However, we have to acknowledge that certain verticals within the print industry, such as packaging, labels, and specialty printing, are experiencing growth.
5. Administrative assistants and executive secretaries
Sorry, Pam Beesly fans, but it looks like the role of office administrator is going digital. Once the backbone of every office, executive secretaries have become particularly vulnerable as organizations flatten hierarchies and executives become more self-sufficient with technology.
Executives are handling their own correspondence and resorting to smart scheduling through apps. It’s no wonder that WEF’s 2025 report projects a 6 million job loss by 2030.
Administrative assistants, as well, who were once considered indispensable, are being replaced by a combination of AI tools, digital document management systems, virtual/AI assistants, and automated communication systems.
4. Cashiers and ticket clerks
“Paper or plastic” is becoming “self-checkout or app?” As more stores and entertainment venues go cashless and ticketless to cut costs and improve efficiency, these front-line workers are being phased out slowly but surely.
Self-checkout lanes, mobile and online ticketing, and contactless payment systems are rapidly replacing human cashiers and ticket clerks across industries, with approximately 20% of these jobs being displaced by 2030. The WEF report specifically highlights these roles as facing the largest decline in absolute numbers, making them one of the most endangered job categories.
3. Data entry clerks
In a world where AI can scan, interpret, organize data, and crunch numbers faster than you can say “spreadsheet,” data entry clerks are becoming obsolete.
With an estimated 8 million job losses on the horizon (as per WEF reports), machine learning algorithms, AI-powered systems, and automated data processing tools like OCR tech are taking over. These technologies can handle massive datasets with greater speed and accuracy than humans, leaving little room for manual data entry roles.
Remember when visiting a bank meant interacting with a human? Also, when was the last time you deposited a check? With mobile banking apps, ATMs that can handle almost any transaction, automated kiosks that can handle virtually all traditional teller functions, and the rise of digital payment systems, bank tellers may become something of a rare profession.
Banks are transforming branches into automated service centers, with the pandemic only accelerating this shift. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a decline of 15% from 2023 to 2033 for these job roles, while other sources estimate declines ranging from 8% to 17% over similar periods.
1. Postal service clerks
Remember when getting mail was exciting? Well, the thrill is gone, and so are the jobs. Emails now reign supreme, with instant messaging taking over. Neither snow, nor rain, nor heat, nor gloom of night can save this profession from topping this list.
Digital communication has fundamentally altered the landscape for these workers. With physical mail volumes continuing their decades-long decline, e-commerce takeover, automated kiosks, and online postage services becoming more sophisticated, postal service clerks represent one of the fastest-shrinking job categories. By 2030, these positions are expected to decline by a whopping 34%.
Source: World Economic Forum