For 250 years, America benefited from one economic advantage so consistent it was easy to take for granted: the workforce kept growing. A steadily expanding labor force helped the economy adapt through recessions, technological shifts, and periods of disruption.

That growth is about to end, and as a country, we have not fully reckoned with what that means.

More from Yahoo Scout What barriers prevent workers from switching career paths? Which sectors face the most severe worker shortages? How can AI help solve workforce mismatching problems? What is causing America's projected workforce decline?

Indeed Hiring Lab research projects the US labor force could shrink by nearly 6 million workers by 2032. This is not a cyclical slowdown, but rather simple demographic math: The birth rate has been falling for decades, and Baby Boomers are retiring faster than younger generations can replace them.

At the same time, businesses are just starting to grapple with the impact of artificial intelligence. Much of the conversation today around AI has focused on cost savings and job losses. But if you are worried about AI taking all the jobs, you're worrying about the wrong thing.

So far, there is little evidence of widespread AI-driven job losses. If anything, companies are still hiring aggressively around AI implementation, infrastructure, and deployment. What we do know is that we are facing a demographic cliff that will hit different sectors differently, and the ones impacted the most are least likely to be disrupted by AI.

The sectors facing the most severe shortages, including healthcare, construction, and skilled trades, are still deeply dependent on human labor. Healthcare deserts have become more common in parts of the country. The Health Resources and Services Administration projects the US could face a shortage of over 140,000 full-time physicians by 2038. Employers in healthcare, engineering, manufacturing, and the public sector keep telling us the same thing: they cannot find enough qualified workers, even in a slower labor market. Meanwhile, hiring has cooled in many white-collar sectors such as software development or marketing, the very industries most exposed to AI.

AI tools can help automate and enhance large parts of a software developer's job. But while it may help a nurse automate paperwork, it cannot replace bedside care. Automating parts of a logistics workflow is not the same thing as building homes without construction workers.

This is the mismatch at the heart of the problem: the occupations facing the biggest demographic pressures are not the same occupations where labor is most readily available. The question is not whether there will be work to do. There will be. The challenge is whether we can move workers into the jobs the economy actually needs quickly enough.