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US jobs (BLS)

US payroll employment per month from the BLS Current Employment Statistics since 2015: the AI-exposed industries (call centres, clerical work, graphic design, news publishing), the software and IT-services industries, sector baselines and controls, and a derived share — plus the job openings, hiring, quit and layoff rates from the companion JOLTS survey, which count who moved in and out of those jobs.

The BLS counts each job by the industry of the employer, not by the work the person does. A designer at a bank counts as a bank job. Every chart here shows an industry, and it only stands in for an occupation.

cadence · monthly 27 series updated 21 Oct 2026 www.bls.gov/ces/ ↗
release markers

Total nonfarm (all jobs)

159M +0.3% yr as of Sep 2026
020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100M120M140M160M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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AI-exposed industries

We group these industries because people expect AI to cut jobs in them. That expectation is a guess, not a result. Two of these industries are flat or still grow.

Call centres & telemarketing

277k −3.2% yr as of Aug 2026
0100k200k300k400k500k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Telephone call centres (all)

307k −4.1% yr as of Aug 2026
0100k200k300k400k500k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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This industry already contains every job in the “Call centres & telemarketing” chart. The two charts are a wide and a narrow view of the same workers — never sum them.

Document preparation (data entry)

28.3k −17.0% yr as of Aug 2026
010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Graphic design services

51.8k +1.8% yr as of Aug 2026
010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k50.0k60.0k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Newspaper, book & periodical publishers

233k −7.9% yr as of Aug 2026
0100k200k300k400k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Web portals & other information services

183k +0.1% yr as of Sep 2026
050.0k100k150k200k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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This industry holds search portals, libraries and archives together. The BLS does not count them apart.

Advertising & public relations

479k −0.6% yr as of Sep 2026
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Most of these jobs are in media buying and account management. Few of these people write copy, which is the part AI can do.

Software & IT services

Computer systems design & services

2.4M −1.3% yr as of Sep 2026
0500k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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This industry already contains every job in the “Custom computer programming” and “Computer systems design” charts. All three count the same workers at different widths — never sum them.

Custom computer programming

1.1M −0.8% yr as of Aug 2026
0200k400k600k800k1.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Computer systems design

1.1M −2.3% yr as of Aug 2026
0200k400k600k800k1.0M1.2M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Software publishers

653k −0.5% yr as of Aug 2026
0100k200k300k400k500k600k700k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Data centres, hosting & data processing

454k −4.7% yr as of Sep 2026
0100k200k300k400k500k201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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A new data centre costs a lot of money but adds few jobs. These jobs therefore follow the money spent on data centres only loosely.

Baselines & controls

These lines are controls, not AI signals. They show the wider sectors and the business cycle. Compare every other chart on this page with them before you blame AI.

Total private

136M +0.5% yr as of Sep 2026
020.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M100M120M140M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Professional & business services

22.5M +0.6% yr as of Sep 2026
05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Professional, scientific & technical

10.8M +0.8% yr as of Sep 2026
02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Administrative & support services

8.5M +0.5% yr as of Sep 2026
02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Information sector

2.7M −4.2% yr as of Sep 2026
0500k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Employment services (staffing)

3.2M +0.8% yr as of Sep 2026
01.0M2.0M3.0M4.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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⚠ This line is a control. In every recession, staffing companies lose jobs before other companies do. Check the business cycle first.

Temporary help services

2.5M +0.6% yr as of Sep 2026
0500k1.0M1.5M2.0M2.5M3.0M201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Derived

AI-exposed industries, share of all jobs derived

0.81% of all jobs −3.8% yr as of Aug 2026
00.20.40.60.811.2201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Six of the seven AI-exposed industries, divided by all US jobs. We leave out “Call centres & telemarketing”, which already sits inside “Telephone call centres (all)”, so no job counts twice. ⚠ This share fell steadily from 2015, long before generative AI.

Job openings, hiring & layoffs (JOLTS)

These charts count moves into and out of jobs each month, not the number of jobs. ⚠ Compare each one with 2015–2019, not with the tight job market of 2021 and 2022.

Layoff rate — Information

1% −16.7% yr as of Aug 2026
0123456201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Information holds publishers, broadcasters, telecom and web firms. It is not a count of technology jobs. Read it against the “Layoff rate — all private employers” chart.

Layoff rate — Professional & business services

1.7% −22.7% yr as of Aug 2026
0123456201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Layoff rate — all private employers

1.2% −7.7% yr as of Aug 2026
0246810201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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⚠ This line is a control. It counts every private employer in the US. Compare each sector chart with it before you blame AI.

Job-openings rate — Information

4.3% −8.5% yr as of Aug 2026
02468201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Information holds publishers, broadcasters, telecom and web firms. It is not a count of technology jobs. The line jumps each month, so read the change across years.

Hiring rate — all private employers

3.6% 0.0% yr as of Aug 2026
01234567201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Quit rate — all private employers

2.1% −4.5% yr as of Aug 2026
00.511.522.53201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026Copilot GAClaude 3Gemini 2.5 Pro
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Figures

US jobs (BLS): latest figure, change, range and coverage of each series
SeriesLatestChangeMinMaxCoverage
Call centres & telemarketing277k−3.2% yr276k505kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Telephone call centres (all)307k−4.1% yr307k542kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Document preparation (data entry)28.3k−17.0% yr28.3k49.3kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Graphic design services51.8k+1.8% yr50.1k65.0kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Newspaper, book & periodical publishers233k−7.9% yr233k438kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Web portals & other information services183k+0.1% yr121k192kJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Advertising & public relations479k−0.6% yr433k503kJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Computer systems design & services2.4M−1.3% yr1.9M2.5MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Custom computer programming1.1M−0.8% yr806k1.1MJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Computer systems design1.1M−2.3% yr890k1.2MJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Software publishers653k−0.5% yr326k664kJan 2015 — Aug 2026
Data centres, hosting & data processing454k−4.7% yr291k489kJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Total nonfarm (all jobs)159M+0.3% yr130M159MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Total private136M+0.5% yr109M136MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Professional & business services22.5M+0.6% yr19.2M22.9MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Professional, scientific & technical10.8M+0.8% yr8.5M10.8MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Administrative & support services8.5M+0.5% yr7.2M9.1MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Information sector2.7M−4.2% yr2.6M3.1MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Employment services (staffing)3.2M+0.8% yr2.5M3.9MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
Temporary help services2.5M+0.6% yr2.0M3.2MJan 2015 — Sep 2026
AI-exposed industries, share of all jobs0.81%−3.8% yr0.81%1.2%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Layoff rate — Information1%−16.7% yr0.4%6.6%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Layoff rate — Professional & business services1.7%−22.7% yr1.2%6.4%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Layoff rate — all private employers1.2%−7.7% yr1%10%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Job-openings rate — Information4.3%−8.5% yr2.4%8.3%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Hiring rate — all private employers3.6%0.0% yr3.4%7.1%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
Quit rate — all private employers2.1%−4.5% yr1.7%3.3%Jan 2015 — Aug 2026
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