Twenty-two percent of U.S. workers worry that technology will make their jobs obsolete, according to Gallup’s Work and Education poll. That fear is up seven points since 2021, while other job concerns are stable. The figure had previously varied between 13 percent and 17 percent, with little upward movement in that trend.

The recent rise in people’s concern about their job becoming obsolete is due almost entirely to college-educated workers, among whom the percentage worried has jumped from 8 percent to 20 percent. At the same time, worry among workers without a college degree is virtually unchanged at 24 percent. 

As a result, whereas non-college-educated workers were previously much more concerned about technological replacement than college-educated workers, these groups now express similar levels of concern.

According to the poll, concern about technology making one’s job obsolete is also up more among younger than older workers, widening the generational gap evident in 2021. It has also increased more among those making less than $100,000 than those earning $100,000 or more. 

Meanwhile, concern has increased equally among men and women, with the two groups expressing similar fear levels in both years.

A reduction in benefits remained respondents’ most common job-related concern. A third (31 percent) said they are worried they could lose benefits in the near future. The next-most-common job worry, cited by 24 percent, is having their wages reduced.

Several risks were worrisome to roughly one in five workers, according to the poll. In addition to being replaced by technology (22 percent), this includes being laid off (20 percent) and having their hours cut back (19 percent). The least worrisome risk to workers is having their job moved overseas (7 percent).