Nearly half of Nevada’s jobs are in occupations classified as highly susceptible to automation, putting the state at the top of a new national ranking and highlighting the exposure of workers who serve meals, sell merchandise, and handle routine transactions. This is according to an analysis by CJS Automation, a British industrial automation parts supplier.
The study places 48.79% of Nevada’s covered employment in high-risk occupations, representing 718,030 jobs. That compares with 41.47% nationally, a gap of 7.32 percentage points.
Customer-Facing Jobs Most at Risk
Nevada’s largest high-risk occupations include fast food and counter workers, retail salespersons, and waiters and waitresses. Together, those three categories represent 132,290 positions, illustrating how heavily customer-facing work contributes to the state’s ranking.
Las Vegas also leads the metropolitan ranking. Among 36 metropolitan areas with at least one million jobs, 49.99% of its covered employment falls into high-risk occupations. San Jose has the lowest share, at 31.45%, according to the company’s analysis.
Geographic Variations in Job Risk
The occupations driving exposure vary geographically. In Indiana, the largest high-risk category is laborers who move freight and stock by hand, with 103,200 jobs. In North Dakota, heavy truck drivers account for the largest category, with 11,870 positions.
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The analysis combines employment estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics with automation probabilities from Oxford researchers. CJS classified occupations with automation probabilities above 70% as high risk. The findings measure potential exposure rather than predicted layoffs.
Each occupation receives the same risk score regardless of location. Nevada’s lead therefore reflects its mix of occupations, rather than evidence that businesses there are adopting automation faster. The District of Columbia has the lowest exposure at 25.14%.
National Impact and Potential Opportunities
Nationally, CJS places approximately 61.7 million jobs in high-risk occupations. Johnathan Craddock, director at CJS Automation, argued that workers’ existing experience could help them move into technical roles.
“A machine can take that task over, but somebody still has to keep it running and fix it when it stops, which is skilled work,” Craddock said.