Story perspectives

Automation may replace 80% of support hours by 2035

By Drooid · Oct 11, 2026, 10:35 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

U.S. researchers project automation will replace 80 percent of office and administrative support hours by 2035.
Since 2022, job postings demanding AI fluency rose elevenfold, adaptability fivefold, resilience threefold.
More than 70 percent of workers will need new skills even without changing employers.
U.S. research estimates 11 million Americans may have to leave shrinking occupations for different jobs by 2035.

History

Historical Context

1973 IBM introduced the System/370 mainframe, igniting large-scale computerization of clerical work and reshaping employment patterns across U.S. corporations. Labor data showed that between 1973 and 1980, 2 million jobs vanished, while AT&T and General Motors eliminated thousands, as the New York Times reported. Today, projections indicate 80 percent of office tasks will be automated by 2035, echoing the shift, with ads rising elevenfold since 2022 and Google driving surge. That displacement forced millions into retraining, prompting U.S. Congress to draft legislation that could reshape education funding for the projected 11 million workers needing new skills.

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Story summary

U.S. researchers project automation will replace 80 percent of office and administrative support hours by 2035.
Since 2022, job postings demanding AI fluency rose elevenfold, adaptability fivefold, resilience threefold.
More than 70 percent of workers will need new skills even without changing employers.
U.S. research estimates 11 million Americans may have to leave shrinking occupations for different jobs by 2035.

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