New U.S. labor data suggest that jobs most exposed to artificial intelligence may already be contracting, adding to concerns about what rapid AI adoption could mean for workers in customer service, sales, and office support. 

The broader job market is still expanding, but employment in a group of occupations the Bureau of Labor Statistics has identified as "artificial intelligence related" is now moving the other way.

What's happening?

According to Gizmodo, data from the BLS show that AI-related occupations declined 0.2% from May 2024 to May 2025, while total employment increased 0.8% over that same stretch.

On its own, that drop may seem modest. But some of the losses within the category were far more noticeable. Customer service representative jobs, for example, fell by 130,180 positions in the year ending last May — a 4.8% decline.

According to a 2024 BLS report, the agency identified 18 occupations as AI-related. That list includes paralegals and legal assistants, graphic designers, interpreters and translators, procurement clerks, sales representatives, administrative assistants, and customer service representatives.

Gizmodo noted that Bloomberg's analysis of the latest numbers found that one rapidly growing category — medical secretaries and administrative assistants — may be obscuring broader softness in the group. Excluding that category, employment across the remaining AI-exposed occupations fell by 1.6%.

None of that proves AI alone is responsible for every lost job. But it does add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that some desk-based roles centered on routine communication, paperwork, and system navigation may be among the first to come under pressure as employers test automation tools.

Why is this trend concerning?

The concern is not only that certain jobs may be disappearing. Many of these roles have traditionally served as entry points into the workforce or as stable middle-income office careers. If they shrink faster than new opportunities emerge, workers could face more financial instability, fewer paths to advancement, and more pressure to take lower-quality jobs.

The data also raises a broader question: What kinds of work is AI replacing, and what kinds is it actually creating? Supporters of the technology argue that AI will improve productivity and eventually help generate better roles. 

That may still be true. But, so far, some of the replacement work appears to involve reviewing, correcting, or cleaning up flawed AI output rather than leading to clearly better career paths.

If AI is reducing jobs, the public could end up absorbing multiple costs unless companies and governments manage the transition more carefully.

What's being done about this trend?

For now, economists and policymakers are still trying to determine how lasting these early labor shifts may be. According to Gizmodo, the BLS has noted that AI could weaken prospects in some occupations while improving them in others, and many experts still expect new jobs to emerge as the technology develops.

What happens next will depend heavily on business decisions and public policy. Among the most important steps are stronger worker training programs, clearer disclosure when companies use AI to replace or monitor employees, and labor protections that help people move into new roles rather than being pushed out altogether. 

Schools, employers, and public agencies can also place greater emphasis on skills that are harder to automate, such as relationship-building, complex decision-making, and specialized technical expertise.

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