Most Americans Now Think AI Will Take Away Jobs — Here's What the Numbers Show

Seven in ten U.S. adults believe artificial intelligence will lead to fewer jobs in the United States over the next twenty years, up from 64% in 2024, according to a Pew Research Center survey published August 18, 2026. The finding comes alongside a Stanford study showing employment for workers ages 22 to 25 in the jobs most exposed to AI has fallen 13% since 2022.

These are two different kinds of evidence pointing the same way. People are getting more worried about AI and jobs at the same time that hiring data for young workers is starting to show real changes. The Stanford study, cited by Cleveland.com on August 17, 2026, looks at recent college graduates — people whose first jobs often involve tasks that AI tools can now do, like writing, summarizing, and basic analysis.

The pessimism has been building for about two years. A February 2025 Pew survey found 52% of U.S. workers worried about the future impact of AI in the workplace, with 32% expecting fewer job opportunities. By September 2025, the share of workers who say they use AI for at least some of their tasks had risen to 21%, up from 16% in 2024, per Pew data published March 12, 2026. More people are using AI tools. More people are worried about what those tools mean for their jobs. Worry is growing faster than usage.

Young adults are the most concerned of any age group. Forty-eight percent of Gen Z respondents say they believe AI will have a negative impact over the next 20 years, the highest share of any generation, according to Newsweek reporting published June 17, 2026. A Harvard Kennedy School survey of 2,040 Americans aged 18 to 29 found 59% consider AI a threat to their job prospects, the New York Post reported on March 25, 2026. Among recent college graduates, 47% believe AI has already affected hiring in their fields, and 51% of upcoming graduates worry it will mean fewer opportunities, per a Forbes survey published April 28, 2026.

That worry is turning into action. Twenty-nine percent of employees, including 44% of Gen Z workers, said they had undermined or resisted their company's AI strategy, Business Insider reported on May 19, 2026. Axios, in an April 16, 2026 report, described young adults as scared and unprepared for the AI revolution, with career choices already shifting in response.

Public opinion has been moving in one direction for years. An April 2023 Pew survey found 62% of Americans believed AI would have a major impact on jobholders over the next 20 years. Back then, the conversation was mostly about what might happen. Three years later, the Stanford data suggests the worry phase is giving way to real, measurable effects in the job market, at least for the youngest group of college-educated workers.

The broader context here is that AI adoption and AI anxiety are now moving together rather than one lagging behind the other. The Pew data shows usage rising five percentage points in a single year. The Business Insider data shows a meaningful chunk of the workforce, and nearly half of Gen Z within that group, actively pushing back against AI in their own workplaces. When more companies are adopting AI at the same time that more workers are resisting it, that creates a tension that goes beyond simple math about costs and savings. Managing how employees respond to change is becoming just as important as deciding which tools to buy.

For investors and anyone who follows the job market, the Stanford finding is the one to watch most closely. A 13% employment drop for 22-to-25-year-olds in AI-exposed jobs is a real, specific effect. But it does not tell us the full picture. We do not know whether older workers in the same kinds of jobs are losing positions at similar rates. We do not know if companies are keeping experienced staff and replacing only entry-level hires with AI tools. Each of those possibilities would mean something different for wages, for the value of a college degree, and for how workers should plan their careers. The data does not yet answer those questions.

What is clear from all the survey evidence taken together is that expecting job loss from AI is now the majority view among adults. Among young adults, it is close to a consensus. When 71% of adults and nearly 60% of those under 30 share the same pessimistic outlook, the question is no longer whether AI will change the job market. The question is how quickly government, schools, and employers will respond to what the public is feeling.