THE

FUTURE
OF WORK
REPORT
Table of Contents The Future of Work............................................................................. 3

AI Drives Rebirth of On-Shore Manufacturing......................... 8

AI Averts the Looming Healthcare

Industry Labor Crisis......................................................................... 11

Education Needs AI to Advance,

But it is the Slowest to Adopt....................................................... 14

Cities Become the Country’s Next

Breadbasket as AI Reinvents Agriculture..................................17

Drones and Autonomous Vehicles

Promise to Deliver New Jobs to the
Transportation Industry and Beyond........................................ 20

Building a Better Future of Work............................................... 24

Methodology.......................................................................................25

Acknowledgements..........................................................................27
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 3

INTRODUCTION

The Future of Work

There is no question that artificial intelligence (AI)
will transform the job market. For the first time, Jobs that are disappearing due
we are seeing software that is better than a to technology
human at performing real-world tasks and enabling Fastest-Declining Jobs According to the BLS;
Projected Decline from 2016–2026
efficiencies that will greatly exceed the impact of Parking enforcement workers
previous technological disruptions. The implications -35%
this carries for employers and job seekers alike Word processors and typists
-33%
are significant. Postmasters
-21%
A landmark study on the future of work from Switchboard operators

McKinsey Global Institute1 estimates that 50% of -20%

Textile machine operators
the work we currently do could be automated.
-19%

This same study predicts that by 2030, as much as Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

30% of all workers will potentially be displaced

by technology and another 14% could be forced
Jobs that technology has created
to change employment categories to keep up.
Fastest-Growing Jobs Created by AI on
ZipRecruiter; Annual Growth 2017–2018
However, based on employment data from the
Senior data scientist
ZipRecruiter marketplace, AI created about three 340%
times as many jobs as it destroyed in 20182. How Mobile application developer
186%
do we resolve the disconnect between predicted job
SEO specialist
reduction and results observed to date? 180%
Web developer
Two things seem to be true of AI so far: 179%
Social media marketing manager

•• The most successful applications of AI have 163%

been when used in partnership with humans Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

rather than as a replacement.

AI becomes a cornerstone technology
•• AI is powering a wave of new approaches to
existing industries, creating a surge in new 44% of businesses surveyed by
ZipRecruiter in March 2019 said
career opportunities. 44% they use some form of AI.

Of those who currently do not,

To compile this report, ZipRecruiter data scientists 23% plan to in the future.3

reviewed more than 50 million job postings,

surveyed hundreds of employers3 and thousands 46% of workers surveyed by
46% ZipRecruiter in March 2019 say
of job seekers4, and examined specific use cases in they work with some form of AI
on a regular basis.4
five transitioning industries to get a glimpse into the
future of work in the U.S.

We found that, while AI will reduce employment in

some industries, it is also creating new products and
services, giving rise to new markets, improving
productivity, and making work better.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 4

AI: An Evolving Technology that is

Already Revolutionizing Work

Unlike with past technological disruptions, we have a relatively clear idea of how this paradigm-shifting
technology will evolve. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Workforce of the Future report5,
AI has three distinct stages:

1 2 3

Today: Emerging (today 2030 and beyond:

Assisted intelligence through 2030):
Machine learning algorithms
Augmented intelligence
assist human intelligence by AI-powered systems develop
automating repetitive tasks and decision-making abilities, leading
analyzing massive datasets. to a collaborative and optimally
productive relationship between
Examples:
humans and machines.
• Early forms of GPS Examples:
applications
• Advanced GPS applications
• Chatbots to initiate that can predict traffic
customer experience
patterns
Workforce implications: • Chatbots with advanced
responsive sales techniques
• Increased demand for skilled
tech workers to develop Workforce implications:
AI-powered systems
• Increased demand for
• Little to no tech-induced technical and soft skills to
job loss supplement automated
systems
• Some job displacement but
significant opportunities for
new and better work
Autonomous
intelligence
Machines are designed to act
on their own, capable of both
decision-making and emotional
intelligence skills.
Examples:
• Fully autonomous fleets of
self-driving cars
• Virtual sales staff capable
of navigating the entire
customer relationship
experience
Workforce implications:
• Potential widespread job
displacement in industries
such as transportation
• Net employment gain still
expected, but many job
seekers will need significant
retraining

The pace of innovation in the fourth industrial revolution, according to the economist and founder of the
World Economic Forum Klaus Schwab6, is faster than any major workforce shift that has come before.

This makes plotting exactly where we fall on the spectrum at any given point in time a challenge. We do know,
however, that we have now entered the emerging stage of AI and augmented intelligence, and that we are
already experiencing disruption in the labor market.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 5

Many Job Seekers Fear AI, But Employers

Favor Human Talent

In a March 2019 survey, we asked more than 11,000

job seekers and 500 employers using the ZipRecruiter Job seeker fears of AI-induced
platform how they felt about the coming age of AI. unemployment by industry4
Warehouse
Among job seekers: 32%

1/5 fear one day losing their job because of AI4

Finance and insurance

27%
1/3 aged 18–22 fear being replaced by AI Accommodation and food services

26%
21% expressed concerns that they will lose Retail
their own job to AI 26%

48% are concerned about AI eliminating Construction workers were the least likely to fear
technological unemployment
jobs generally

58% think that AI will destroy more

jobs than it creates
Employers are also concerned about the spread of

“
AI throughout their respective industries, but their
current perspective shows a largely positive outlook
for job seekers.
“I am working in the social
The employers we surveyed told us that they
services/public health sphere, so
believed AI could replace only 15% of the work
my job is based more on people
their employees perform. Contrary to the notion
and communication skills, which
that employers would prefer an entirely automated
are harder to automate. However,
system, assuming parity between labor costs and
I am very concerned about AI
productivity, 81% of employers surveyed also
taking over customer service,
said that they would rather hire a human than
truck driving, manufacturing,
implement a completely autonomous system.
sales/retail, and clerical jobs.”
Although employers talked about the co-existence
—ZipRecruiter job seeker
of AI and their human workers, they did express
serious concerns about a growing skills gap. 84%
of the employers we surveyed said they thought
that the continuous adoption of AI in the workplace
will make it more difficult for people to find work
in the future.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 6

AI is Not Killing Middle-Class Jobs

One popular argument about the negative effects

of AI is that it will primarily disrupt the lives of Demand for AI talent is rising
middle-class workers, with some predicting that Annual growth in job postings on
the job market will become increasingly polarized, ZipRecruiter, 2017–2018

splitting the workforce into overpaid, highly Artificial intelligence

educated technocrats and poorly paid workers 379%

employed in their service. Machine learning

188%
Although the pace of AI adoption accelerates every Automation
day, ZipRecruiter data do not yet indicate the 89%

“
hollowing out of middle-class job opportunities. Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

“Income polarization could

continue in the United States
and other advanced economies, High-wage jobs are growing more
quickly than medium- or low-wage jobs
where demand for high-wage
Average annual growth in job postings on
occupations may grow ZipRecruiter, 2016–2018
the most while middle-wage High-wage
occupations decline.” 63%
Medium-wage
—McKinsey Global Institute,
54%
Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce
Transitions in a Time of Automation7 Low-wage

41%
Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

While futuristic job skills are on the rise,

middle-wage job growth outpaced low-wage
opportunities over the two-year period of 2016
to 2018. ZipRecruiter data also show that jobs
requiring a high school diploma grew faster than
jobs requiring a bachelor’s degree from 2017 to
2018. Taken together, these trends suggest that AI’s
disruption to the job market is not (yet) leading to
further income polarization.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 7

A recent study8 suggests that the share of middle-
income Americans has stabilized or even started
growing again. One reason for growth in mid-
wage jobs on ZipRecruiter is the development of
new technologies that are democratizing certain
occupations and lowering the barriers to entry. For
example, photo, video, and sound editing software
have made it easier to design websites or produce
podcasts. Another important factor is the rise
of jobs like personal trainer, marriage counselor,
massage therapist, and sommelier—jobs for which
demand is increasing.
Technological advances are not the sole driver for
the displacement of existing roles by new job types.
Demand also plays an instrumental role in shaping
the future of work:
•• New efficiencies in manufacturing are answering
the call for more American-made products.
•• Advances in robotics and cloud computing are
lowering healthcare costs and improving patient
outcomes.
•• The growing taste for local, organic produce will
be satisfied as AI makes urban farming possible.

AI technology in each of the industries we have

Share of adults living in middle-income studied here was incorporated to deliver greater
households is largely unchanged since 2011 consumer satisfaction and higher corporate profits.
Percentage of adults in each income tier9 Like previous waves of technological innovation, it
Lower Middle Upper is simultaneously creating more jobs and improving
the quality of work.
2016 29% 52% 19% Percentage of adults in each income tier

2011 29% 51% 20%

2001 28% 54% 18%

1991 28% 54% 18%

1981 26% 59% 15%

1971 25% 61% 14%

Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 8

SECTION 01

AI Drives Rebirth of
On-Shore Manufacturing
Manufacturing jobs posted to the ZipRecruiter Manufacturing occupations with the largest
marketplace grew 84% in 2018, outpacing growth job posting gains in 2018
in the mega-sectors of finance and insurance, as Change in Job Postings,
well as business and professional services. Per Job Title 2017–2018

ZipRecruiter data, jobs of all skill levels are growing

1 Machine Operator 41,225
in the manufacturing industry.
2 Flexo Press Operator 24,154
Rather than the widespread elimination of
manufacturing jobs in the near term, a 2018 3 Service Technician 22,488
joint study from Deloitte and the Manufacturing
4 Production Associate/Worker 16,183
Institute10 argues that there will actually be a labor
shortage of 2.4 million jobs from 2018 to 2028 5 Assembler 15,434
because of increased demand for American-made
products and a widening skills gap in the industry. 6 Production Supervisor/Manager 15,318

According to ZipRecruiter data, many of these 7 Electrical Engineer 14,668

jobs will be in traditional manufacturing roles.

8 CNC Operator/Machinist 13,788
Machine operators showed the largest net gain in
manufacturing job postings on ZipRecruiter from 9 Mechanical Engineer 10,612
2017 to 2018. The flexo press operator, which is
a skilled machine operator role, was the fastest- 10 Controls Engineer 7,998

growing specialization, adding over 24,000 job Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

postings on ZipRecruiter in 2018.

Both the increase in manufacturing jobs and the

diversity of the roles reflect an industry that is creat-
ing quality jobs across the skills spectrum.

A flexo press operator in action. Flexo press operators were the

fastest-growing specialized manufacturing job on ZipRecruiter in 2018.
[ Image reprinted with permission from Missouri-based printing press
manufacturer, Mark Andy Inc.]
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 9

AI and the Small Manufacturer Boom

AI has fostered the growth of small manufacturing
businesses in the U.S. by introducing efficiencies to
production and business development that were
never thought possible.
Domestic, small-scale manufacturing has struggled
over the last few decades due to the cost-prohibitive
bidding and design process. For a manufacturer
to win a contract, they first need to compile a
competitive bid, which cannot be achieved without
considerable expense for design and prototyping.
AI is changing that.
Xometry leverages AI-powered sourcing and pricing
algorithms, trained to analyze millions of data points
associated with custom part manufacturing, in their
proprietary instant quoting system. Computational
geometry algorithms are used to assess CAD design
files to determine the complexity and time required
to manufacture each part.
The outputs from this process are then distributed
to Xometry’s nationwide network of over 2,500
manufacturers, giving them the ability to instantly
accept a job without engaging in the time-

“
consuming bidding process.

Xometry, which is the largest online marketplace

for custom, on-demand manufacturing in the U.S.,
uses AI to connect clients in need of custom “Bringing a large number
manufacturing with manufacturers who would of buyers and sellers together
otherwise be unable to compete with faster, enables more efficient and cost-
cheaper labor overseas. effective manufacturing on both
sides of the transaction. Our
In the past, a business instant quoting platform would
in need of a custom
What tech makes this not be possible without AI,
possible?
manufacturing and it’s incredible to see how
• Machine learning run would need to
algorithms local machine shops and
source available
• AI algorithms
manufacturers have benefited
manufacturers, submit from this technology.”
• Computer-assisted
their design and wait
design software
for a quote, both —Bill Cronin, CRO of Xometry
on lead time and
cost of production. This meant that each time an
inquiry was made, precious production time was
spent processing the estimate by first analyzing the
design, assessing the current supply chain, and then
making a best guess at the production time and
cost involved.

This process takes an incredible amount of time

and introduces risks to the manufacturer if the
estimates are insufficient to cover costs, let alone
generate profits. On the client side, the go-to-market
strategy is often delayed, and shopping multiple
bids only extends this delay.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 10

Through AI, Xometry is changing the way businesses

and manufacturers work together, and is satisfying Manufacturing job growth on
market demand for made-in-the-U.S. products and ZipRecruiter in 2018 by size of business
customization. These are just a few ways this coop- Small Manufacturing Orgs

erative technology can impact larger markets: 31%

Medium Manufacturing Orgs

•• A lower barrier to entry: 31%

This technology is making it easier for companies Large Manufacturing Orgs
that seek to design and produce goods for the 14%
first time, while also helping existing businesses Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

expand their production and diversify their

products more easily.

•• Greater efficiency and profitability:

Businesses work more efficiently and focus on
their core strengths, instead of spending time
and money on the minutiae of manufacturing.
Small manufacturers are hiring more11
38% of small manufacturers in Q4 2018
indicated that they hired more employees

•• Diversification, risk reduction, and resilience:

since the same period in 2017.
Maintained Same
Small manufacturers diversify their client bases,
51%
weather market shocks, and stay in business.
Hired More
38%
All too often, the closure of a large plant has taken
Decreased Number
an entire pocket of small manufacturers down with
11%
it. New technologies allow small manufacturers to
be less dependent on the success of one major
client and to weather unexpected changes to
the economy.

We are already seeing the positive effects of this

technology in ZipRecruiter data, where manufac-
turing job growth at small companies was more
than twice as fast as that at large companies
between 2017 and 2018.

Small manufacturers are hiring more

Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 11

SECTION 02

AI Averts the Looming

Healthcare Industry Labor Crisis
[Data viz] Employment in healthcare, 1990–2018
Demographic shifts are the primary stress factor
in the healthcare industry. According to the
U.S. Census Bureau12, every baby boomer in the U.S.
will be older than 65 by the year 2030, which will
lead to a demand for healthcare services that the
current healthcare labor force cannot satisfy.

Employment in healthcare, 1990–201813

Actual health care employment What health care employment would be if it grew
at the average rate of total employment
2019
20M
16 million jobs

16M

1990
12M
8 million jobs

8M

4M

JAN 1990 JAN 1995 JAN 2000 JAN 2005 JAN 2010 JAN 2015 JAN 2019

“
“Efficiencies in healthcare technologies will thus become necessary
innovations to meet the demographic changes afoot, freeing time spent
in administration and record keeping for caregiving activities.”

—World Economic Forum,

The Future of Jobs Report 201814
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T
AI Brings a Healthcare Paradigm Shift
According to the scientific journal Nature Medicine15,
the results of a study comparing doctors versus
AI software at diagnosing lung cancer found the
software, which used a deep learning algorithm to
study the CT scans of thousands of cancer screening
patients, much more effective.
AI-driven technology “outperformed all six
radiologists with absolute reductions of 11%
in false positives and 5% in false negatives.”
Today, most cancer is not found until the late stages
of the disease, when the focus quickly shifts to
acute intervention and pain management. Bay Area
biotech company Freenome aims to change that by
using AI to detect early-stage cancer from a simple
blood test.
“Blood tests for early detection traditionally have not
been an area of focus in the biotech space,” says
Gabe Otte, Co-Founder and CEO of Freenome. “It is
a major shift for biotech companies to care about
diagnostics at all. That’s because in the past inves-
tors wouldn’t support research and development
(R&D) for new diagnostic technology because you
can’t sell it the way you can drugs. Our funding
wouldn’t have been possible five years ago.”
The only way for com-
What tech makes this panies like Freenome
possible? to steer healthcare
• Advances in DNA innovations in the
sequencing technology
direction of early-stage
• Cloud computing
infrastructure
diagnostics is to make
it attractive to inves-
• AI algorithms
tors. It has become
a practical option
because the cost of cloud computing power has
fallen16 dramatically in recent years, and R&D can be
accomplished at scale using AI.
Freenome’s AI-powered genomic algorithms study
thousands of cancer-positive blood samples at the
subcellular level and then compare differences
between DNA fragments found in healthy samples.
The power of AI to analyze these extraordinarily
12
complex data sets opens the potential for Freenome
to detect the presence of cancer within the blood-
stream well before a tumor has fully formed.
The company is currently in the midst of its
first clinical trial17 for colorectal cancer detection.
They are evaluating 20,000 samples from 3,000
patients nationwide and hope to conclude the trial
in late 2019.
Here are three ways AI-powered technology can
impact larger markets:
•• Improved health and productivity: Cancer
currently costs billions of dollars in lost
productivity due to premature deaths and
absenteeism for treatments. That cost could fall
dramatically with earlier detection and higher
treatment success rates.
•• Better work: High mortality rates among cancer
patients also have an impact on oncologists, who
often suffer from high rates of depression, stress,
and burnout. With earlier detection technology,
they could see the same number of patients, but
earlier and with much better outcomes.
•• New jobs: Monitoring and early detection are
creating new jobs for people serving in health
advisor roles. While they are typically not medical
professionals, health advisors are medical
specialists trained in interpreting health data
and helping people make appropriate decisions
about their care and lifestyles.
A shift in the healthcare industry toward focusing
on early-stage diagnostics achieved with AI has
far-reaching implications for the healthcare labor
market.
In 2016
~15.5 million living with a history of
cancer in the U.S.
In 2018
~1.7 million cases of cancer were
diagnosed in the U.S.18
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 13

Improving early-stage diagnostics, just in cancer

alone, could significantly increase the productivity
of medical doctors and help them manage growing
patient volumes. In addition to improving both the
work for oncologists and patient outcomes, there
will be an increased need for medical specialist jobs.

These new-collar jobs come with a significantly

lower barrier to entry since they typically require
training in a single software, device, or technique.
Radiologic and MRI technologist jobs19, for example,
are projected to increase 13% during the period
from 2016 to 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics. Another very high-demand job that
will only increase with the shift toward diagnostics,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects, will be A technician at work in the Freenome laboratory. [Photo reprinted with
phlebotomist jobs20, which will grow 25% by 2026. permission of Freenome]

ZipRecruiter data show these types of mid-skill,

mid-wage jobs are already on the rise, with medical
specialist jobs on the ZipRecruiter platform
increasing 54% in 2018.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 14

SECTION 03

Education Needs AI to Advance,

But it is the Slowest to Adopt
The educational achievement gap in the U.S., The education sector also lags behind in its adoption
especially when it comes to science, technology, of new technologies. According to a ZipRecruiter
engineering, and math (STEM), is well documented. survey of more than 11,000 job seekers conducted
According to the latest results from the Program for in March 2019, educators were the least likely to say
International Student Assessment (PISA), the U.S. they use AI on a regular basis at work compared to
ranked 38th out of 71 countries for math and 24th workers in other industries.
for science in 2015.21
A 2019 survey of education industry executives
These results can in part be connected to the and administrators conducted by research firm
ongoing teacher shortage in the U.S. As a result of HolonIQ23 showed that only one in 10 education in-
higher enrollment levels coupled with increased dustry leaders have deployed AI at their institution.
teacher attrition rates over the past several years,
Among more than 30,000 job titles, school teach-
the Learning Policy Institute22 estimates a shortage
er was among the top 20 fastest-growing jobs on
of 100,000 new teachers each year from 2018
ZipRecruiter in 2018, outpaced only by nursing and
through 2025 if current supply and demand trends
driver jobs. The continued demand for educators,
remain unchanged.
coupled with the forecasted lack of supply, calls for
the added efficiencies made possible by AI.

The Growing Gap Between Teacher

Supply and STEM Job Demand
Projected Teacher Supply and Demand
We expect to see a shortage of 100,000 new teachers each year from 2018 through 2025 if current trends continue.

Estimated Total Supply Projected Estimated Total Supply

Actual New Hires Demanded Projected New Hires Demanded

300,000

Among more than

250,000 30,000 job titles,
school teacher was
NUMBER OF TEACHERS

among the top 20

200,000
fastest-growing jobs
on ZipRecruiter in
150,000
2018, outpaced only
by nursing and
driver jobs.
100,000

50,000

0
2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025

Source: Learning Policy Institute

Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T
Grading at Scale with AI
AI-assisted grading tool Gradescope, which is part
of the writing assessment software company Tur-
nitin, improves the tedious and error-prone task of
grading handwritten papers and exams. This saves
teachers hours every week and optimizes how they
deliver their feedback.
Gradescope’s AI compiles text similarities to group
answers into batches so teachers can grade more
efficiently and provide detailed feedback quickly.
Gradescope’s machine learning algorithm also uses
successful examples from past exams to determine
how to grade future assignments, thus becoming
more efficient with every use.
As of 2018, Gradescope’s technology is being lev-
eraged at more than 600 academic institutions
and has been used to grade more than 40 million
“
student answers.
“Gradescope gives instructors
superhero powers.”
—Arjun Singh, Co-Founder of Gradescope
AI-powered tools like Gradescope have a wide range
of applications in the classroom, including:
•• Improved productivity: AI-powered tools can
help instructors do their jobs more efficiently,
allowing them to spend more time developing
lesson plans and addressing the needs of
struggling students.
•• Better work: By making tasks more efficient,
Gradescope improves working conditions
for instructors and boosts career satisfaction.
Improved working hours and morale can
improve the quality of candidates drawn to work
in the field and, ultimately, improve retention.
•• Improved student outcomes: AI technology
can also improve student learning by helping to
deliver more targeted and timely feedback.
15
Simplifying administrative tasks is just one way that
AI can help to address the challenges of ever-grow-
ing class sizes and limited resources. It can also
power tools to increase the opportunity for person-
alized learning.
The two keys to personalized learning models are
to identify the student’s interests and adapt to their
aptitude for learning. This is possible for skilled
teachers to accomplish in a one-on-one setting, but
only AI can achieve these tasks at scale. As more
activities and assessments are performed digitally,
AI can modify the content to optimize the pace and
difficulty level for each individual student.
While these tools have
yet to be adopted in What tech makes this
possible?
our academic institu-
tions, many businesses • Smartphones
are using AI-powered • AI
software for personal- • Machine learning
ized employee training.
Pennsylvania-based
learning analytics company Zoomi uses proprietary
machine learning algorithms to understand what
each employee comes to the table with and the
gaps in their skills that need to be filled. It then
modifies the training content to meet those needs
in real time.
Performance analytics generated by the software
can then be leveraged by companies to improve
training materials and identify growing skills gaps.
The use of this technology in the classroom has
the potential to dramatically improve our ability to
effectively prepare students for the workforce of the
future. Given the significant regulatory barriers that
exist in our public education system, a collaborative
effort between policymakers, educators, and private
enterprises will be necessary to move the adoption
of AI in the education sphere forward.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 16

Changing Education Requirements and

Emerging Trends in On-the-Job Training

Employers have responded to the tighter labor

market in two key ways: Jobs requiring advanced degrees are
growing most rapidly, followed by those
1. A four-year degree is no longer required requiring high school and a certification
for a well-paying job with growth potential. Growth in job postings, 2017 - 2018

2. Employers have increasingly assumed Share of all postings with education requirement
specified in 2018
responsibility for training their employees. High school or GED

21% 82%
Ultimately, employers are beginning to favor
Certification
demonstrable skills over academic credentials.
20% 80%

According to ZipRecruiter data, jobs requiring a

Bachelor's degree
high school education or professional certification
29% 65%
grew more rapidly than those requiring a bachelor’s
degree in 2018. Jobs requiring advanced degrees Associate's degree

grew the fastest but constitute a much smaller 1% 59%

share of jobs overall. Master's degree

1% 70%
Is this a sign of growing income polarization in
the future of work? That remains to be seen. It’s Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

interesting to note that, in 2018, salary growth in

the manufacturing, financial, construction, technol-
ogy, and engineering industries was faster in jobs
that do not require a degree than in those that do,
according to ZipRecruiter data.

While Education Growth in on-the-job training is increasing across many industries

Requirements are Falling, Growth in jobs associated with on-the-job training, 2017–2018

On-the-Job Training -38% Energy and Environment

Is on the Rise -33% Healthcare

-25% Legal
In our March 2019 survey, 74% of employers -16% Transportation and Storage
said that it is either very important or -14% Agriculture
somewhat important for their job candidates to
-7% Technology
have technology skills. At the same time, 57%
Personal Care 2%
said that new technologies were not increasing
Business 14%
their business’s need for employees with
bachelor’s or advanced degrees. Education 21%
Food 23%
ZipRecruiter data show an emerging trend Automotive 25%
toward employers offering on-the-job training Construction 26%
(OJT). Jobs offering OJT rose 11% in 2018. Manufacturing 29%
Finance and Insurance 39%
Retail 43%
Tourism 62%
Engineering 87%

Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 17

SECTION 04

Cities Become the Country’s

Next Breadbasket as AI
Reinvents Agriculture
In the last ten years, the agriculture industry has
experienced greater business consolidation than in
any other sector. Mega farms have been swallowing
up smaller farms for at least the past three decades,
according to a 2018 report from the USDA24:
“By 2012, 36% of all cropland was on farms with at
least 2,000 acres of cropland, up from 15% in 1987.”
AI is poised to reverse this trend and radically
change the face of the agriculture labor market as
we know it.
In recent history, gains in agricultural yields and
productivity have been largely driven by genetically
modified organisms (GMOs) and seed innovations
from the likes of companies such as DuPont
and Monsanto.
Innovations in AI have introduced the new category
of “precision farming.” Farmers have always loved
data: The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which attempts to
predict future crop performance based on carefully
collected weather data from the past, has been pub-
A recent study from Goldman Sachs Global
Investment Research26 estimates that AI-powered
precision farming will result in a 70% yield increase
worldwide by 2050. Based on Goldman’s projections,
total adoption of the technology by 2050 would
generate an additional $800 billion in crop
production value.
It’s no wonder then that the Labor Department
predicts that job growth for precision agriculture
technicians will be as high as 14% over the next 10
years from 2016 to 2026, even as overall farm
employment falls.27
Annual change in agriculture jobs
requiring high-tech skills, 2017–2018
Computer-Assisted Design (CAD)
+211%
Autodesk Maya
+20%
Drone Technology
+14%
Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data

lished continuously since 1792.25

Today, however, farmers collect site-specific data

from their crops using sophisticated instruments
to analyze soil composition, moisture levels, and
fertilizer needs, among others, to determine optimal
conditions to maximize yield. Because the use of
new technologies such as drones, GPS, and
computer sensors has led to unprecedented levels
of data collection, AI has become a necessary tool
for analysis, turning massive data sets into This AI-powered robot, developed by Fieldwork Robotics, can pick 25,000
raspberries a day—10,000 more than the average human28.
actionable insights.
[Photo reprinted with permission from Fieldwork Robotics Ltd/University
of Plymouth]
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 18

New Urban Farms Will Employ

Digital Natives

Agriculture technology (agtech) has come a long way
in the past 10 years, with innovations that go far
beyond self-driving tractors and GMOs. Most of
these technologies are being designed to minimize
risk and increase yields, in true agrarian fashion. But
unlike the innovations of old, agtech focuses first on
improving the product and increasing sustainability.
Bowery Farming,
which describes
What tech makes this
possible? itself as a modern
• Large-scale data farming company,
storage
builds indoor farms
• Computer vision within the geographic
systems
markets they serve.
• AI-powered control
systems The farms are
contained, controlled
environments, making
it possible for them to be herbicide- and pesticide-
free and to grow food year-round. Indoor farms
like Bowery can be 100 times more productive
per square foot than traditional outdoor farms all
while delivering locally grown, organic produce at a
significantly lower price to consumers.
Bowery’s AI software constantly adjusts water,
light, and nutrients to keep the farm producing
at optimal levels. These AI-powered computer
vision systems relentlessly monitor crops at a
level of precision that is impossible for the hu-
man eye to replicate. It’s also creating jobs.
“We are hiring across the board
right now. We have a very large
technical team of software
developers and computer vision
engineers, but we are also hiring
for entry-level and part-time farm
operators. When you combine
a large economic opportunity
with a positive social impact,
that attracts really talented and
passionate people.”
—Irving Fain, CEO of Bowery Farming
Here are three ways AI is transforming the
agriculture industry:
1. Worker safety: Indoor farms are creating
more healthful environments for workers by
not exposing them to harmful herbicides and
pesticides or dangerous UV rays.
2. Year-round job stability: The artificial
environment eliminates seasonal and weather
variability, so employees can work year-round.
It also reduces the risk of natural disasters and
crop diseases.
3. Job satisfaction: On vast rural farms, workers
often specialize in performing one repetitive
task, such as driving a tractor back and forth
across the farm. A distributed network of urban
farms would involve a larger number of smaller
teams performing more varied tasks and doing
so in dynamic urban environments where young
people want to work and live.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 19

Farms do far more than grow crops. AI is making its

way into multiple agtech categories and changing Categories of companies in agriculture tech29
the category of work from labor to skilled positions,
leading to a marked increase in agricultural technol-
ogist jobs.
100 62 $437M
Companies Deals Funding

In 2018 on ZipRecruiter:

92% increase Farm Management Precision Agriculture and

in agriculture jobs Software Predictive Data Analytics

171% increase
in agriculture jobs with the word
Sensors Animal Data
“technician” in the title

Market intelligence platform CB Insights29 has

identified over 100 agtech companies operating Robotics and Drones Smart Irrigation

in the U.S. With 62 deals and $437 million in

funding, 2017 was a record-breaking year for $
farm-focused startups.
Marketplaces Next Gen Farms

Plant Data/Analysis

Produce in Bowery’s indoor, vertical farms is continously assessed by a proprietary, AI-powered

operating system. [Photo reprinted with permission of Bowery]
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 20

SECTION 05

Drones and Autonomous Vehicles

Promise to Deliver New Jobs
to the Transportation Industry
and Beyond

Transportation and Storage is perhaps the one
industry where widespread technological displace-
ment is all but certain in the relatively near future.
AI-dependent automation in the transportation and
storage industry (which boasts some of the fastest-
growing jobs on ZipRecruiter) is advancing rapidly.
The World Economic Forum estimates that
by 2025, 10–15% of jobs in the sector will be at
high risk of automation, increasing to
35–50% by 2035.30
About four million drivers31 and more than one
million warehousing and storage workers32 in the
U.S. face the highest likelihood of being replaced
by technology. One needn’t look any further than
Amazon’s recently unveiled fully autonomous drone
delivery system Prime Air to imagine the potential
job loss for delivery drivers alone.33
The question of what opportunities will be available
to these workers when full automation is achieved
looms ever larger.

Economic impact of drones in the U.S.34

Estimates 2015—2025

Additional revenue ($bn) New jobs (k)

10 120

8 96

6 72

4 48

2 24

0 0
15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 21

How Drones Will Deliver for the

American Worker

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems Demand for drones is creating jobs
International (AUVSI) estimates that the cumulative across a range of industries

economic impact of drones will top $80 billion and Growth in jobs associated with drone
technology, 2017–2018
create 100,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2025.35 There were
Automotive
20,000 more drone job postings on ZipRecruiter in
22%
2018 than in 2017, marking a 51% increase year Legal
over year. 36%
Business
Rather than 91%
What tech makes this eliminating jobs, Government
possible?
drones are creating 91%
Education
• Advanced cloud new and well-paying
computing 105%
opportunities. Real Estate
• Computer vision
algorithms While the bulk 111%
Travel
of drone-related
• Autonomous flight
118%
technology work is currently in
Transportation and Storage
engineering, drone 122%
technology is also Arts and Entertainment

leading to job growth in industries as diverse as 166%

Construction
finance, sports and recreation, and education.
238%
Technology
Much like autonomous vehicles, regulatory issues
253%
have kept drone operations from getting off the Manufacturing
ground. But, with a 10-city pilot actively underway37, 460%
society is on the cusp of the drone age. Sports and Recreation
495%
The top 10 drone job titles on ZipRecruiter in Science

2018 reveal how far-reaching AI-powered drone 657%

Finance and Insurance
technology already promises to be.
1216%
Engineering
1488%
Top ten drone job titles in 2018
Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data
1. Customer Service Team Member
2. Computer Vision / Deep Learning Engineer
3. Drone Camp Instructor
4. Electronics Retail Merchandiser
5. Operations Team Member for Food
Delivery Startup
6. Robotics and Automation Research Analyst
7. Senior Java Developer
8. Senior Software Engineer
9. Assistant Restaurant Manager
10. Ad Operations Associate
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 22

Drone technology will also increase the efficiency of

traditionally blue-collar industries.

Consider the San Francisco Bay Area-based flight

automation and data capture software company
DroneDeploy. DroneDeploy allows users to create
accurate, hi-res maps generated from drone-cap-
tured imagery. Beyond simply rendering images,
computer vision and machine learning algorithms
parse the visual data to create business intelligence
insights showing project progress and providing
highly sophisticated risk assessments in real time.

DroneDeploy automated over one million drone

flights in 2018, mapping more than 50 million acres
worldwide. According to their 2018 Commercial
Drone Industry Trends Report38, drone adoption
at the enterprise level increased five times from
August 2016 through the end of 2017. Enterprises
are also increasingly bringing drone operations in-
house. The average size of an in-house drone team
is now five members, according to DroneDeploy
customer data. Title: Drone delivering a cardboard box on a blue sky. Credit: Remus Kotsell
[Photo reprinted with permission of Getty Images]
Using data from the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association39
(AOPA) estimates that drone pilots in the U.S. will
outnumber commercial airline pilots by 2023. And Autonomous vehicle technology is creating
these jobs pay well. jobs across a range of industries
Growth in jobs associated with autonomous
$74,185/year vehicles, 2017–2018
Drone pilot average salary Manufacturing
720%
But drone pilots are not the only jobs that will result Technology
from booming enterprise-level adoption of drone 400%
technology. DroneDeploy shows how applications of Engineering
202%
this technology in construction, agriculture,
Business
surveying and mining can have a net positive effect
171%
on job creation and the quality of work in these Travel
industries. Rather than replacing workers, drones 49%
can accomplish tasks that are extremely challenging
Overall growth: 342%
for humans, leading to safer and more productive
Source: ZipRecruiter, Inc. Internal data
job sites.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 23

The Creative Destruction of

Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) may very well replace These cost savings will allow automakers to
the vast majority of driving jobs in the future. But combat a growing talent shortage in automotive
AV technology has already begun to create new job manufacturing and maintenance by ramping up
opportunities for the middle-class as a direct result hiring efforts and increasing wages. ZipRecruiter
of this displacement. data show they have already begun to do so.

Since cars and tractor-trailers have yet to reach
full autonomy, and because of the increased de-
mand for delivered goods spurred by the rise
of e-commerce, driver jobs continue to soar on
ZipRecruiter. However, as legacy automakers begin
to respond to growing demand for AVs, there is an
opportunity for the drivers of today to prepare for a
career in the automotive industry of tomorrow.
While technology and engineering had the
second and third highest job growth rate in the
field—comprised mostly of robotics and software
engineers—there was also burgeoning growth in
business and professional services, as well as the
travel industry, according to ZipRecruiter data. This
further illustrates how the positive effects of AVs will
ripple throughout the job market.

A recent report from Business Insider Intelligence40 The non-governmental organization Securing
on the state of AI in the auto industry shows how America’s Future Energy (SAFE)42 estimates that AVs
these new job opportunities are evolving. will result in $800 billion in societal and consumer
Because of the increased complexity of today’s benefits by the year 2050, including a dramatic
consumer vehicles, production costs have soared reduction in car accidents and oil consumption.
for automakers, and implementing AI solutions
to streamline production has become necessary
to control these costs. In fact, McKinsey Global
Institute41 estimates that implementing AI in the
auto manufacturing industry could result in cost
savings of $173 billion by 2025.

Projected Annual Consumer and Societal Benefits from AVs

$800 Billion U.S. Dollars

$700

$600 Annual calculated consumer

$500
and societal benefits from AVs

$400

$300

$200

$100
$0
2020 2025 2030 2035 2040 2045 2050

Source: David Montgomery, Public and Private Benefits of Autonomous Vehicles, June 2018
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 24

CONCLUSION

Building a Better Future of Work

AI has already begun to create new career opportunities that will be safer and more enjoyable than the jobs it
destroys and where technology and humans will work together. But all stakeholders must take collective action
to ensure the best possible outcomes for job seekers and employers alike.

One of the first steps toward a better future of work is to understand the unique challenges and opportunities
that lie ahead. Private enterprises with access to big data can make a considerable contribution to this effort.

Another step is for policymakers to play their part as the adoption of AI quickly advances. From the New Deal to
the Obama-era Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), the federal government has a long history of
implementing policies that assist workers with training programs.

Although the emerging stage of AI and augmented intelligence has not yet caused widespread disruption of the
labor market, guardrails are needed to support the future workforce and foster job market dynamism.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T
Methodology
ZipRecruiter is a leading online employment mar-
ketplace. Powered by AI-driven smart matching
technology, the company actively connects millions
of all-sized businesses and job seekers through
innovative mobile, web, and email services, as well
as partnerships with the best job boards on the web.
25 million people search for jobs on ZipRecruiter on
average each month, and every day we have over 9
million active job postings available to search.
The ZipRecruiter Future of Work Report leverages
the same powerful technology that fuels our mar-
ketplace to develop an overview of job and wage
growth trends in the U.S., with an emphasis on AI
technology and the emerging skills being sought by
employers. The findings are based on the aggrega-
tion and analysis of tens of millions of online job
postings and candidate applications on ZipRecruiter.
Job postings
ZipRecruiter aggregates jobs from across our mar-
ketplace of over 9 million active job postings in the
U.S., carefully removing duplicates and organizing
them according to a taxonomy. Jobs that are essen-
tially the same are grouped together under canoni-
cal forms (e.g., “Registered Nurse”), which can have
one or more variations or synonyms (e.g., “RN”)
and are each associated with an O*NET code. Our
taxonomy currently holds 31,211 entries, or around
22,500 canonical forms.
We also maintain a hypernymy showing relation-
ships between canonical forms. Job title x is catego-
rized as a hypernym of job title y if x is more general
than y. For example: “Software Engineer” is a hyper-
nym of “Java Software Engineer”.
In addition, we maintain a taxonomical structure of
our own that associates each job posting with an
industry, a category, and a function. So, for “Reg-
istered Nurse,” the industry is “Healthcare,” the
25
category is “Nursing,” and the function is “General,”
whereas for “Family Nurse Practitioner,” the asso-
ciated function is “Advanced Practice.” There are
currently 27 industries in our taxonomy.
Time trends
To identify time trends and compare them across
occupations and cities in the U.S., we track daily
and monthly numbers of active job postings on
ZipRecruiter, and the number of job seeker applica-
tions within each category and area.
Since there is considerable daily, weekly, monthly,
and seasonal variation in the number of jobs posted
and applications received, we often use three-, six-,
or 12-month moving averages, or compare annual
averages across calendar years.
Adjustment for company growth
In recent years, the share of nationwide jobs posted
directly on ZipRecruiter has expanded rapidly. It is
therefore necessary for us to adjust for company
growth whenever drawing insights from directly
posted jobs. We do so by applying an adjustment
that holds ZipRecruiter’s share of nationwide job
openings (as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statis-
tics in the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey)
constant over time.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 26

Comparison of growing and Survey methodology

declining jobs
We tallied up declines in the number of job postings
across all declining occupations between 2017
and 2018, and compared them to job posting
gains across all growing occupations. Adjusting
for company growth, there were approximately
five times as many new job postings in growing
occupations as there were lost job postings in
declining occupations in 2018 compared to 2017.
Among just those changes directly attributable to
the internet and AI, there were approximately three
times as many gains as losses overall.
To supplement our jobs data with information about
U.S. job seeker beliefs and behaviors, ZipRecruiter
surveyed 11,478 active job seekers and 520 active
employers in March 2019. Active job seekers are
defined as logged-in registered users who visited
ZipRecruiter’s site or actively used the ZipRecruit-
er job search app during that time period. Active
employers are defined as logged-in account holders
who visited the website or used the employer app
to post or manage jobs or job candidates, browse
the ZipRecruiter resume database, or make changes
to their account settings.

Salaries and benefits

When employers post jobs directly on ZipRecruiter,
they may manually enter compensation data as a
range, but are not required to do so. Since the start
of 2018, 37% of the jobs posted contained a mini-
mum compensation value. For jobs that do include
salary information, we track changes in the average
compensation, and in the minimums and maxi-
mums of the ranges employers specify. Although
the salary data are not fully comprehensive, they do
provide insight into salary trends in particular occu-
pations and industries, particularly the larger ones.

Other job characteristics

To gauge other aspects of jobs, such as the number
of jobs associated with particular products (e.g.,
“Marijuana,” “cannabis,” or “CBD”), technologies
(e.g., “Artificial Intelligence” or “AI”) or groups of job
seekers (e.g., “recent graduates” or “new graduates”),
we conduct keyword searches of job postings on
ZipRecruiter. Our standard practice is to develop
a list of relevant terms and synonyms, then man-
ually search job postings to find any related terms
we may have missed. Once our researchers have
agreed on the relevant list of search terms, our data
scientists query our database of job postings and
compute relevant statistics of interest.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T 27

Acknowledgements
A special thank you goes to the executives who agreed to be interviewed for this report, including: Bill
Cronin, Xometry’s Chief Revenue Officer; Gabriel Otte, CEO and Co-Founder at Freenome Inc.; Arjun Singh,
Vice President of STEM Products and Technology at Turnitin; and Irving Fain, Co-Founder and CEO at Bowery
Farming. The insights provided by each of these industry leaders proved to be invaluable examples of AI in
action, without which this report would not have been possible.

We would also like to thank everyone on the ZipRecruiter analytics and content teams whose hard work and
prodigious talent constitute the very backbone of this project.

Ultimately, we want to thank the millions of employers and job seekers who use ZipRecruiter to get connected
to their next great opportunity.
Z I P R E C R U I T E R | T H E F U T U R E O F WO R K R E P O R T
Endnotes
1 McKinsey Global Institute, “Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce Transitions in a Time
of Automation,” December 2017, p.2, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/
future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-
and-wages.
2 We tallied up declines in the number of job postings across all declining occupations
between 2017 and 2018, and compared them to job posting gains across all growing
occupations. Adjusting for company growth, there were approximately five times
as many new job postings in growing occupations as there were lost job postings in
declining occupations in 2018 compared to 2017. Among just those changes directly
attributable to the internet and AI, there were approximately three times as many gains
as losses overall.
3 Survey conducted 3/6/19–3/25/19, and included responses from 520 employers
logged into the ZipRecruiter employer portal during the period the survey was conduct-
ed, all of whom completed the survey. The survey spanned 17 different industries, with
companies ranging in size from those having fewer than 20 employees to those having
100 or more employees.
4 Survey conducted 3/13/19–3/19/19, and included responses from 11,478 active
job seekers, 8,847 of whom completed the survey. “Active job seekers” are defined
as logged-in, registered users who visited ZipRecruiter’s site or actively used the
ZipRecruiter job search app during the time the survey was conducted.
5 PricewaterhouseCoopers, “Workforce of the Future: The Competing Forces Shaping
2030,” 2017, p.8, https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/people-organisation/workforce-
of-the-future/workforce-of-the-future-the-competing-forces-shaping-2030-pwc.pdf.
6 Klaus Schwab, “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: what it means, how to respond,”
World Economic Forum, January 14, 2017, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/
the-fourth-industrial-revolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond/.
7 Mckinsey Global Institute, “Jobs Lost, Jobs Gained: Workforce Transitions in a Time
of Automation,” December 2017, p.2, https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/
future-of-work/jobs-lost-jobs-gained-what-the-future-of-work-will-mean-for-jobs-skills-
and-wages.
8 Rakesh Kochhar, “The American middle class is stable in size, but losing ground
financially to upper-income families,” Pew Research Center, September 6, 2018, https://
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/06/the-american-middle-class-is-stable-in-
size-but-losing-ground-financially-to-upper-income-families/.
9 ibid.
10 Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute, “2018 Deloitte and The Manufacturing
Institute skills gap and future of work study,” 2018, p.3, http://www.themanufac-
turinginstitute.org/~/media/E323C4D8F75A470E8C96D7A07F0A14FB/DI_2018_Deloitte_
MFI_skills_gap_FoW_study.pdf.
11 Xometry Small Manufacturing Index, Q4 2018.
12 U.S. Census Bureau, “2030 Marks Important Demographic Milestones for U.S. Pop-
ulation,” September 6, 2018, https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/
cb18-41-population-projections.html.
13 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
14 World Economic Forum, “The Future of Jobs Report,” 2018, p.15, http://www3.
weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2018.pdf.
15 Diego Ardila, Atilla P. Kiraly, Sujeeth Bharadwaj, Bokyung Choi, “End-to-end lung
cancer screening with three-dimensional deep learning on low-dose chest computed
tomography,” Nature Medicine, p.25, pp.954–961, 2019, https://www.nature.com/
articles/s41591-019-0447-x.
16 Bill Supernor, “Why the cost of cloud computing is dropping dramatically,” App
Developer Magazine, January 25, 2018, https://appdevelopermagazine.com/why-the-
cost-of-cloud-computing-is-dropping-dramatically/.
17 Freenome, “Freenome is Conducting the First Clinical Validation Study of an AI-Ge-
nomics Blood Test – and Ramps Up Commercial Hiring,” May 23, 2018, https://www.
businesswire.com/news/home/20180523005328/en/Freenome-Conducting-Clinical-Val-
idation-Study-AI-Genomics-Blood].
18 American Cancer Society, “Cancer Facts & Figures 2018”, p.1, https://www.
cancer.org/content/dam/cancer-org/research/cancer-facts-and-statistics/annual-can-
cer-facts-and-figures/2018/cancer-facts-and-figures-2018.pdf.
19 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
20 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
28
21 Pew Research Center, “U.S. students’ academic achievement still lags that of their
peers in many other countries,” February 15, 2017, https://www.pewresearch.org/
fact-tank/2017/02/15/u-s-students-internationally-math-science/.
22 Sutcher, L., Darling-Hammond, L., & Carver-Thomas, D., “A coming crisis in
teaching? Teacher supply, demand, and shortages in the U.S.,” Learning Policy Institute,
p.1, https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/A_Coming_Cri-
sis_in_Teaching_REPORT.pdf.
23 HolonIQ, “Adoption of AI in education is accelerating. Massive potential but
hurdles remain,” March 31, 2019, https://www.holoniq.com/notes/ai-potential-adop-
tion-and-barriers-in-global-education/.
24 James M. MacDonald, Robert A. Hoppe, and Doris Newton, “Three Decades of
Consolidation in U.S. Agriculture,” EIB-189, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic
Research Service, March 2018, p.5, https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publica-
tions/88057/eib-189.pdf?v=0.
25 Wikipedia, “Old Farmer’s Almanac,” accessed June 11, 1981.
26 Goldman Sachs Global Investment Research, “Precision Farming: Cheating Malthus
with Digital Agriculture,” July 13, 2016, p.7, https://docdrop.org/static/drop-pdf/GSR_ag-
riculture-N1sH6.pdf.
27 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
28 Mark Hanbury, “This fruit-picking robot can pick up to 25,000 raspberries a day,
and it could someday replace human workers,” Business Insider, May 28, 2019, https://
www.businessinsider.com/robot-picks-25000-raspberries-a-day-outpaces-human-work-
ers-2019-5.
29 CB Insights, “AgTech and the Connected Farm,” March 29, 2018, p.20, https://www.
cbinsights.com/reports/CB-Insights_Agtech-Connected-Farm-Briefing.pdf.
30 Jeff Desjardins, “7 charts on the future of automation,” World Economic Forum,
February 25, 2019, https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/02/the-outlook-for-automa-
tion-and-manufacturing-jobs-in-seven-charts/.
31 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook
Handbook at https://www.bls.gov/ooh/. The figure combines the numbers of heavy
and tractor-trailer truck drivers (1.872 million); delivery truck drivers and drivers/sales
workers (1.421 million); taxi drivers, ride-hailing drivers, and chauffeurs (305,100); and
bus drivers for schools or special clients (504,150) as of May 2018.
32 Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Current Employment Statis-
tics survey at https://www.bls.gov/ces/. The figure is the number of total employees in
warehousing and storage (1.170 million) as of December 2018.
33 Dennis Green, “Amazon unveils a new Prime Air drone it says ‘within months’ will
start delivering packages,” Business Insider, June 5, 2019, https://www.businessinsider.
com/amazon-unveils-new-drone-prime-air-2019-6.
34 Darryl Jenkins, Dr. Bijan Vasigh, “The Economic Impact of Unmanned Aircraft
Systems Integration in the United States,” AUVSI, March 2013, p.19, https://www.auvsi.
org/our-impact/economic-report.
35 ibid.
36 ibid.
37 Government Technology, “Map: FAA Selects 10 Cities for Drone Innovation Proj-
ects,” May 14, 2018, https://www.govtech.com/biz/Map-FAA-Selects-10-Cities-for-Drone-
Innovation-Projects.html.
38 Drone Deploy, “2018 Commercial Drone Industry Trends,” May 2018,
13, https://dronedeploy-www.cdn.prismic.io/dronedeploy-www%2Fae535f-
da-dfc9-4bcf-9743-292df714e9fe_dd__2018_trends_report-f.pdf.
39 Jim Moore, “FAA Underestimated Drone Growth,” Aircraft Owners and Pilots As-
sociation, May 7, 2019, https://www.aopa.org/news-and-media/all-news/2019/may/07/
faa-forecast.
40 Ayoub Aouad, “The AI in Transportation Report,” Business Insider Intelligence,
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port-2019-3.
41 McKinsey Global Institute, “Artificial intelligence: automotive’s new value-creating
engine,” January 2018, p.11, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-as-
sembly/our-insights/artificial-intelligence-as-auto-companies-new-engine-of-value.
42 Securing America’s Future Energy (SAFE), “America’s Workforce and the Self-Driving
Future,” 2018, p.8, https://avworkforce.secureenergy.org/.
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