Millions of workers risk being replaced by AI - but which jobs are safest?

Lorry drivers, chefs and cleaners are among the most AI-safe jobs, research suggests.

Paid carers, teachers and shop workers are also less likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence, according to analysis by recruitment giant Manpower. But while they may be AI-proof - for now - they are threatened in other ways, from different technologies, squeezed budgets, and changing habits.

The findings come amid predictions that the AI revolution will radically change the way of work, with winners and losers. Its arrival is already having a big impact, with a recent report showing the number of entry level jobs has slumped by a third since OpenAi’s chatbot software ChatGPT was launched in late 2022 Jobs website Adzuna said AI’s use has dented firms’ demand for graduates, apprentices and internships.

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Other roles seen as most at risk include data entry staff, computer coders and software engineers, administrators, customer service, and proof readers.

Forecasts on the number of workers whose jobs could eventually be replaced by AI vary greatly. Investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted in 2023 that the equivalent of 300 million full-time jobs worldwide could go. Meanwhile, think tank the IPPR says up to eight million UK jobs were at risk, with women and young people most in the firing line.

The stark predictions are likely to prompt people to think about how they can “future proof” themselves, whether by becoming AI savvy or focusing on roles less likely to be replaced by the technology.

Goldman Sachs estimated that over 46% of administration tasks would be impacted, but just 6% when it came to construction. That is backed by research last year by Adzuna which found plumbers and carpenters were among those with the least to fear.

Manpower’s analysis, for the Mirror, found the most “safe” jobs from AI were lorry drivers, teachers in generals as well as those working in special educational needs, shop workers and supervisors, and cleaners. Others in strong demand include care assistants, chefs, teaching assistants and support workers.

Anna Spaul, ManpowerGroup’s director of data innovation and insights, said some firms were beginning to use AI in the hiring process. “There is definitely a case for using AI to sift through applications,” she added. Ms Spaul said companies were increasingly looking for applicants who already have AI know-how. But she stressed there were vital skills people have over the technology, including “emotive intelligence, empathy and all the great things that come with being human.”

Research by accountancy giant PwC last month found wages are rising twice as quickly in industries most exposed to AI. And despite the jobs market cooling, it says demand for workers skilled in AI continued to rise, with some of the biggest in financial services and healthcare.

Adzuna’s list of jobs safest from AI ranged from big paying roles such as oncologists, paediatricians and judges, to midwives, mechanics, therapists and crane drivers. Rival website Indeed also has a list of the jobs least likely to replace by generative AI, an enhanced version used to create new content which can feel like it has been made by a human. The top 10 includes drivers, nurses, vets, building workers, plus those in childcare, and making food. Most at risk include software developers, accountants, human resources, and those working in the media, communications, and marketing.

However, the list also throws up questions. For instance, retail workers are at risk from shop closures due to higher costs and online competition, while there is talk of self-driving lorries even replacing truckers at some stage.

Manpower’s Ms Spaul predicted that, in future, the success of a company may not be judged purely by how many staff it takes on. “It won’t be the only measure,” she said. “That is something over the next 10 years that will be really interesting to follow. Going back to 2022, we were dealing with jobs where there was less than one person vacancy, and now there is a surplus. But projections and predictions have limit at the moment because of the pace of change.”