These 30 occupations could see the fastest job decline in the next decade: Labor Department

(NEXSTAR) – It’s no secret that the health care sector has fueled the nation’s job growth in recent years. Some 18 million Americans work in health care, data from the Labor Department shows.

That’s only expected to grow over the next decade, according to new Labor Department projections: six of the 10 fastest-growing jobs are health care related.

Not every sector is seeing employment growth, though.

In its report released on Thursday, the Labor Department identified the 30 occupations projected to be the fastest-declining over the next decade.

Some occupations may be impacted by the growth of AI, of course. That includes word processors and typists, which the Labor Department predicts will see the fastest decline in employment through 2035.

The industry’s employment could fall by more than 34% over the next decade, according to the federal projections. That’s a larger employment change than some of the fastest-growing industries are forecast to see.

The interactive table below shows the 30 occupations that the Labor Department projects will see employment drop the most over the next 10 years:

Many of these occupations have a median income below $50,000, according to Labor Department data. Among the lowest paid are telemarketers, sewing machine operators, and pressers for textile, garment, and related materials.

While employment among word processors and typists may decline at the fastest rate over the next decade, a second Labor Department projection suggests a different occupation may experience the largest drop in jobs.

In a report considering the numeric change in employment, the Labor Department projected that employment of word processors and typists could decline from roughly 40,400 to about 26,500 – a drop of about 13,900 jobs.

As of 2025, more than 3.1 million people are employed as cashiers. By 2035, the Labor Department estimates that tally will be about 2.9 million – a decline of more than 200,000, or about 14 times the job decline among word processors and typists.

While large, the Labor Department labels that as a 6.5% decline in employment among cashiers.

The interactive table below shows the occupations that could see the largest job decline over the next decade:

As alarming as the data may be, the Labor Department warns that it cannot “account for the inherent uncertainty of predicting long-term changes in the labor market.”