\n Millions of Americans may need to find an entirely new career in the next decade, according to research released Tuesday.\n <\/p>\n
\n An estimated 11 million workers, or about 6.5% of the current labor force, might have to jump into entirely different occupations by 2035 as a result of automation and artificial intelligence adoption, according to a report from consulting firm McKinsey & Co.\n <\/p>\n
\n The McKinsey Global Institute report predicts that AI could create more jobs than it kills in the next nine years; however, the technological innovation \u201cmay require the largest and most sustained workforce transformation in US history.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhile social media abounds with dire predictions about the impact of AI on labor, the United States is likely to have more jobs available in 2035 than today, but with fewer workers because the population is aging,\u201d according to the report.\n <\/p>\n
\n McKinsey researchers\u2019 base estimate is that automation could reduce labor demand by 36 million jobs by 2035, while growth in AI-related fields and the broader economy could generate demand for 40 million jobs during that time.\n <\/p>\n
\n About 25 million of those 36 million affected workers should be able to stay in their current occupations because growth in their industries should offset the impact of automation, McKinsey noted.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe remaining 11 million may need to switch occupations entirely,\u201d researchers wrote in the report. \u201cThe next decade\u2019s challenge is mobility, not scarcity.\u201d\n <\/p>\n
\n AI impacts notwithstanding, the labor market already is undergoing a historic transformation as Baby Boomers retire, net immigration slows, and exogenous shocks ripple through the economy.\n <\/p>\n
\n For two years running, the job market has been in a \u201clow-hire, low-fire\u201d state, a lethargic turnover environment with opportunities for the few but not the many.\n <\/p>\n
Labor market remains sluggish<\/p>\n
\n That lack of churn was underscored in a separate report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.\n <\/p>\n
\n Job openings, a closely watched measure of worker demand, fell to a five-month low at the end of August; the rate of voluntary quits (a gauge of worker confidence) remained near a six-year low; and layoffs shrank for the second month in a row.\n <\/p>\n
\n Job growth last year was one of the weakest on record. Employment gains have picked up this year (at 80,000 per month versus sub-10,000 last year); however, they remain below historical averages, BLS data shows.\n <\/p>\n
\n Sluggish hiring means that workers feel stuck, said Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, a job search and online career community site.\n <\/p>\n
\n \u201cAnd that means that frustration and anxiety continue to build without a healthy outlet for it,\u201d he told CNN in an interview.\n <\/p>\n
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Sign up here<\/a> for CNN\u2019s nine-week Savings Challenge. CNN\u2019s Jeanne Sahadi delivers a newsletter every Friday with savings tips, expert answers to your questions and challenges to help you get your savings on track.<\/p>\n \n In September, Glassdoor\u2019s Employee Confidence Index fell to a new record low \u2013 its third such nadir this year for the 10-year-old index \u2013 as workers grew increasingly worried about their job security, economic uncertainty and AI.\n <\/p>\n