The Top U.S. Jobs That Are Rising And Falling Fast In 2026

The US job market is currently shifting, with some careers booming and others shrinking. What’s clear is that this data says a lot about where the economy is headed.

Drawing on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2020 to 2024, visual editing company Plus AI looked at how employment in each occupation shifted over four years. The firm compared starting and ending job counts, calculated the percentage change, and then ranked the jobs from the biggest increases to the steepest drops.

For business students, this could be key insight for where companies are investing and where leadership gaps are emerging.

THE FASTEST-GROWING JOBS

Nurse midwives top the list, growing 260%, from 5,000 to 18,000 in just four years. Three years back, the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology showed that the United States had only 4 midwives per 1,000 births, compared with 30-70 in other high‑income countries. Now, times are changing and midwifery is becoming increasingly valued in the U.S.

The two other jobs at the top were proofreaders & copy markers and tire builders. They were both up a whole 250%. Proofreaders could be gaining popularity because AI writing tools still make mistakes that companies don’t want to risk publishing, especially when their reputation is on the line.

Tire builders are rising likely thanks to the stability of the construction industry, as well as the boom in electric cars, delivery vans, and e‑commerce. More vehicles mean more tires, especially specialized ones, which pushes manufacturing to expand.

THE MOST RAPIDLY-DECLINING JOBS

Three of the fastest‑declining jobs in the US show just how quickly technology can change entire career paths. Model makers and patternmakers have seen an 88% drop, mostly because industries like automotive, aerospace, toys, and film now use digital tools instead of building physical prototypes by hand.

Survey researchers are also down 80%. Platforms like Google Forms, SurveyMonkey, and Qualtrics make it easy for anyone to create and run surveys without needing a specialist. Also, statistical assistants have fallen 80% as AI tools and user‑friendly software like Tableau and Power BI let non‑experts analyze data on their own.

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