As many workers worry about the future of their jobs in the age of artificial intelligence, nurse practitioners may have less reason for concern.
A release published Thursday by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) lists the 10 occupations projected to grow fastest between 2025 and 2035, with nurse practitioners leading the list.
Six of the 10 occupations are in healthcare and social assistance services. Emily Krutsch, chief of the BLS Division of Employment Projections, said this reflects the ageing US population and the high prevalence of behavioural health disorders and chronic conditions such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Healthcare has also been the leading sector for job creation in the US economy over the past year, while other sectors have lagged behind.
Healthcare employment rose by 22,000 jobs in July. Although that was slower than its 12-month average, the sector continued to outpace growth in many other industries.
Nurse practitioners lead healthcare growth
Nurse practitioner employment is projected to increase by about 137,800 jobs between 2025 and 2035.
While nurse practitioners are expected to record the largest percentage increase among the occupations on the list, medical and health services managers are projected to add the most jobs in absolute terms, with an estimated 155,100 positions expected over the period.
Two other occupations on the BLS list are in computer and mathematics fields.
Krutsch said the growth reflects increasing demand for information technology products and services, as well as the need to store, manage and analyse large amounts of data.
Data scientist jobs are expected to increase by approximately 95,400, while employment for computer and information research scientists is projected to grow by about 8,400.
High AI exposure does not mean job losses
The BLS classifies both occupations as having “very high” relative AI exposure.
This means that, compared with other occupations, a larger proportion of their tasks can be assisted or completed by AI, and large language models have already been observed performing some of these tasks.
However, the BLS stresses that AI exposure is not a prediction of employment growth or decline.
As a result, a “very high” level of relative AI exposure does not necessarily mean employment in those occupations will fall.
The remaining two occupations on the list are in renewable energy and related infrastructure.
The BLS said the adoption of AI and the expansion of related infrastructure, including data centres, are contributing to greater demand for electricity.
Solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians are expected to experience “very fast employment growth”, Krutsch said.
However, the number of additional jobs is relatively small, with fewer than 15,000 positions expected to be added across the two occupations combined.
US job growth expected to slow
Between 2025 and 2035, total US employment is projected to grow by 3.5%, from 170.3 million to 176.2 million jobs.
That would represent a significant slowdown from the 10.9% growth recorded between 2015 and 2025.
Krutsch said the economy is expected to grow more slowly as the population ages.
A declining labour force participation rate, which refers to the proportion of the population that is working or actively looking for work, is also expected to play a role.
Many older workers are approaching retirement, while demographic trends mean fewer young people are entering the workforce to replace them.
The BLS stressed that long-term labour market projections are subject to uncertainty.
Nevertheless, the projections provide an early indication of occupations where demand is expected to grow.
Many of the jobs have been projected for several years to be among the fastest-growing occupations, including before the recent boom in generative AI and its associated demand for electricity.
At the other end of the spectrum, employment in retail trade and the federal government is projected to decline between 2025 and 2035, by 0.2% and 3.4%, respectively.
However, Krutsch said declining employment projections did not mean opportunities in those career paths would disappear.
“Just because we’re projecting an occupation to decline or not have a lot of growth, that doesn’t necessarily translate to meaning there won’t be opportunities,” she said.
“There still might be openings there.”
