Office automation spans software, artificial intelligence, robotics and human–technology workflows. The figures below distinguish observed adoption, survey responses, modelled exposure and employer forecasts across global and U.S. populations.
Key Office Automation Statistics
The most useful headline measures are:
- 170 million jobs are forecast to be created globally between 2025 and 2030, according to employers surveyed for the World Economic Forum’s forecast.
- 92 million jobs are forecast to be displaced globally by 2030, a modelled employer expectation rather than a realized count.
- 78 million net jobs are forecast to be added globally by 2030, after the projected creation and displacement figures are combined.
- 22% of today’s global formal jobs are represented by projected creation plus displacement for 2025–2030, in the World Economic Forum’s forecast.
- 47% of work tasks were mainly done by humans alone in the 2025 global-employer baseline, compared with technology-alone and combined delivery.
- 22% of work tasks were mainly done by technology in the 2025 global-employer baseline.
- 30% of work tasks used a human–technology combination in the 2025 global-employer baseline.
- 86% of global employers expected AI and information-processing technologies to transform their businesses by 2030.
- 73% of global employers planned to accelerate process and task automation in the 2025 survey, for plans through 2030.
- 18% of U.S. firms used AI in a business function from November 2025 through January 2026, according to the Census Bureau measure.
- 75% of global knowledge workers in 31 countries reported using generative AI at work in 2024.
- 60% of Microsoft 365 users’ app time was spent in email, chats and meetings during the 28-day period ending March 2024.
- 18.5 million U.S. jobs were in office and administrative support occupations in May 2023.
- 12.2% of total U.S. employment was in office and administrative support occupations in May 2023.
- 3.3% of global employment was in the ILO’s highest generative-AI exposure category in its 2023–2024 analysis.
- 77% of global employers planned to upskill their workforce in the 2025 survey, with plans through 2030.
Contents
- Office automation trends through 2030
- Office automation adoption across businesses
- AI and digital work statistics
- Office and administrative support employment data
- Automation exposure for jobs and tasks
- Workforce responses and automation outcomes
Office Automation Trends Through 2030
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 describes employer expectations for labour-market transformation between 2025 and 2030. These are projected or modelled measures, not direct counts of installed automation systems or realized job changes. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Jobs outlook
| Global employer expectation | Measure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs created | 170 million | 2025–2030 forecast |
| Jobs displaced | 92 million | 2025–2030 forecast |
| Net jobs added | 78 million | By 2030 forecast |
| Formal employment represented by creation plus displacement | 22% | 2025–2030 forecast |
The projected new roles equal 14% of current global formal employment, while projected displaced roles equal 8%. Robotics and autonomous systems alone are expected to displace 5 million net jobs by 2030, within the broader labour-market model.
Task delivery is also expected to change. In the 2025 global-employer baseline, humans alone handled 47% of tasks, technology alone handled 22%, and human–technology combinations handled 30%; by 2030, the corresponding forecasts are 33%, 34% and 33%.
The report attributes 81.5% of the projected reduction in humans’ task share to automation. In insurance and pensions management, more than 95% of the reduction in the human-alone task share is attributed to automation; both figures remain forecasts.
Office Automation Adoption Across Businesses
Employer surveys show broad expectations for technology-driven business change, while official U.S. estimates provide observed adoption measures for defined business populations. The measures should not be treated as one continuous series because populations, wording and periods differ.
- AI and information-processing technologies were expected to transform 86% of employers’ businesses globally by 2030, while robots and autonomous systems were expected to transform 58%; the figures come from the World Economic Forum’s employer survey. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Drivers of labour-market transformation
- Energy-generation and storage technologies were expected to transform 41% of employers’ businesses globally by 2030. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Drivers of labour-market transformation
- In the 2025 global survey, 73% of employers planned to accelerate process and task automation and 63% planned to augment their workforce with new technologies through 2030. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Workforce strategies
- Process and task automation was planned by 77% of employers in high-income economies, 74% in upper-middle-income economies and 57% in lower-middle-income economies in the 2025 survey. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Workforce strategies
The comparable 2023 World Economic Forum edition reported that 80% of employers planned to accelerate process and task automation. This is a separate survey edition and should not be read as an uninterrupted trend line.
| U.S. business AI measure | Rate | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses using AI | 3.7% to 5.4% | September 2023–February 2024 biweekly estimates |
| Businesses expected to use AI | About 6.6% | Early fall 2024 forecast |
| Firms using AI in a business function | 18% | November 2025–January 2026 |
| Employment-weighted AI use | 32% | November 2025–January 2026 |
| Firms expected to use AI | 22% | Six-month expectation |
The first two U.S. figures come from the Census Bureau’s real-time business survey analysis. Tracking Firm Use of AI in Real Time: A Snapshot from the Business Trends and Outlook Survey The later estimates come from a separate Census Bureau study; its expected 22% rate is a forecast, not an observed adoption rate. The Microstructure of AI Diffusion: Evidence from Firms, Business Functions, and Worker Tasks
AI and Digital Work Statistics
Microsoft’s 2024 Work Trend Index describes self-reported AI use and Microsoft 365 telemetry. The survey figures cover knowledge workers or leaders in 31 countries, while the activity measures cover Microsoft 365 users during defined windows.
- In 2024, 75% of global knowledge workers surveyed across 31 countries reported using generative AI at work, and 79% of leaders agreed that AI was crucial for business. AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part — 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report
- Also in the 2024 survey, 59% of leaders worried about quantifying AI productivity gains, showing that reported importance and measurement confidence were different questions. AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part — 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report
- 68% of respondents said they struggled with work pace and volume in 2024, while 46% reported feeling burned out. 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report
During the rolling 28-day period ending in March 2024, 85% of emails were read in under 15 seconds among Microsoft 365 users. Those users spent 60% of app time in email, chats and meetings and 40% in creation applications such as Word and PowerPoint. 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report
Among extremely AI-familiar leaders, 41% expected to redesign processes with AI within five years, 42% expected to train a team of AI bots, and 47% expected ethical AI use to become part of their jobs. Separately, 80% of SMB employees reported bringing their own AI tools to work in the 2024 survey. AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard Part — 2024 Work Trend Index Annual Report
Office and Administrative Support Employment Data
U.S. office and administrative support occupations provide a concrete view of the workforce exposed to office-process change. The Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 18.5 million jobs in this occupational group in May 2023, equal to 12.2% of total U.S. employment. 18.5 million office and administrative support jobs in May 2023, 12.2 percent of total employment
| Occupation or measure | Value | Period and geography |
|---|---|---|
| Office and administrative support jobs | 18.5 million | May 2023, United States |
| Share of total employment | 12.2% | May 2023, United States |
| Customer service representatives | About 2.9 million | May 2023, United States |
| General office clerks | About 2.5 million | May 2023, United States |
| Non-specialized secretaries and administrative assistants | About 1.8 million | May 2023, United States |
| Mean annual wage, office/admin support | $47,940 | May 2023, United States |
| Mean annual wage, all occupations | $65,470 | May 2023, United States |
Executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants had a $73,680 mean annual wage in May 2023, while first-line office and administrative support supervisors had a $68,620 mean annual wage. More than 960,000 office and administrative support jobs were in local government excluding schools and hospitals. 18.5 million office and administrative support jobs in May 2023, 12.2 percent of total employment
The later BLS data identify a $47,450 median annual wage for office and administrative support in May 2025. BLS also projects about 1.7 million annual openings from replacement needs for 2025–2035; this opening measure reflects replacement demand and is not a direct estimate of automation-driven job loss. Office and administrative support occupations — Occupational Requirements Survey
Automation Exposure for Jobs and Tasks
The ILO’s generative-AI exposure categories describe the share of employment whose tasks have different levels of potential exposure. They are estimates of task potential, not predictions of job loss.
- The ILO classified 3.3% of global employment in its highest generative-AI exposure category in its 2023–2024 analysis.
- 14% of global employment was in a high generative-AI exposure category in the same analysis.
- 58% of global employment had medium-level generative-AI exposure in the same analysis.
Generative AI and Jobs: A global analysis of potential effects on job quantity and quality
An earlier World Economic Forum employer survey forecast that expected task automation by 2027 would range from 35% for reasoning and decision-making to 65% for information and data processing. The same source reported expected overall automation of 42% by 2027, compared with 47% expected by 2025 in its 2020 survey; these are forecast measures from separate survey editions. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Jobs outlook
Workforce Responses and Automation Outcomes
Employer plans indicate that automation is being paired with workforce development and, in some cases, reductions. In the 2025 global survey, 77% of employers planned to upskill their workforce through 2030, while 41% planned workforce reductions where AI automates tasks. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 — Workforce strategies
These plans describe intended responses, not completed restructuring. They also sit alongside the separate forecast of 170 million jobs created and 92 million displaced globally between 2025 and 2030, so the measures should be interpreted as different parts of the same employer-expectation framework rather than as observed outcomes.
The occupational requirements data add a human-interaction dimension to office work: external verbal interactions were constantly required for 40.3% of U.S. office and administrative support workers in 2025. That measure describes work requirements, not whether a role can or will be automated. Office and administrative support occupations — Occupational Requirements Survey