Will AI take jobs? 71% of Americans say yes - and 34 of 37 countries agree

Pew Research Center surveyed adults in 37 countries between February and May 2026. In 34 of them, more people expect AI to reduce the number of jobs than to create them over the next 20 years. In the United States, 71% now say AI will lead to fewer jobs, up from 64% in 2024, and around seven in ten or more say the same in Australia and South Korea. Expectations of AI job losses track national income: they run highest in the wealthiest countries surveyed. Pew also found people are far more likely to say AI will widen the gap between rich and poor than narrow it, and that the share of Americans aged 18 to 34 who are more concerned than excited about AI has risen from 40% to 55% since 2024. Across the 37 countries, a median of 41% feel equally concerned and excited. This measures expectation, not headcount. Belief that AI is replacing jobs runs well ahead of the cuts employers have actually attributed to AI, and that gap shapes how workers retrain, bargain and vote long before it shows up in a layoff notice.