In Northeastern cities like Boston, Providence, and Hartford, millions of working adults wake up each day to jobs that may not exist in a few years. Last month, a Senate committee led by Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-VT, made a sobering prediction: nearly 100 million American jobs could be eliminated due to artificial intelligence and automation over the next decade. In Massachusetts alone, one analysis predicts that AI will disrupt as many as 55% of jobs.
As AI overtakes not only white-collar work but low-wage, entry-level roles in retail, warehousing, and hospitality, 20 or 30 percent unemployment across the region is a real possibility. New England policymakers must consider that future: more people out of work, unable to pay their rent or mortgages, afford groceries, or find new jobs. All while mounting costs for pensions, and infrastructure such as bridges and roads, strain state budgets.
We are exceptionally unprepared. The region needs to gear up quickly, and states can’t go it alone. Instead, Northeast governors should continue their long tradition of finding regional solutions for collective challenges. A New England coalition around AI, with a common set of goals and a coherent workforce development strategy, is not only necessary for millions of affected New Englanders — it has the potential to become a national model.
So, what would it look like?
Any regional strategy to protect workers must include reskilling that keeps pace with disruption. This approach should be tailored to working adults, who can develop new, in-demand skills through short-term courses online or in-person without leaving their jobs. Unlike traditional education, rapid reskilling fits around work and family while equipping trainees to secure better jobs and higher wages.
A coalition of New England states should focus on establishing, funding, and scaling these types of reskilling programs with a demonstrated ROI. Doing so would boost the economy on two fronts: raising the earning potential of individual workers, and making the region a destination for companies that need the talent pool.
The good news is that New England already boasts a robust workforce development infrastructure. According to a 2023 Harvard analysis, for every 100,000 workers, the Northeast has 11 reskilling programs — far exceeding the national average.
The bad news is that too many of these providers are stuck in the past, operating as a disjointed constellation of organizations that aren’t preparing enough people for the jobs employers need most. One report from MIT concluded that the national skills gap was “magnified” in New England, noting that in 2023 the region had roughly 47 unemployed workers for every 100 manufacturing job openings.
As AI adoption grows exponentially, gaps like these will only widen.
The coalition could close it by bolstering programs that train workers for the “head and hands” roles employers need to fill. These roles, which combine cutting-edge skills with human-powered labor, are everywhere from hospitals to semiconductor plants, and among the least likely to be replaced by AI.
In some cases, the coalition itself could pilot training programs for in-demand jobs. In others, it could direct New Englanders to existing workforce development organizations that offer a high return on investment and deliver documented results. To help New Englanders make informed decisions, the coalition could regularly publish a database of the highest-ROI training providers, ranked by metrics like average wage gains vs. program costs, completion rate, and post-program employment rate.
Finally, the coalition should partner with the region’s major employers to facilitate access to reskilling programs through joint marketing campaigns and subsidizing program costs. Whether it’s CVS in Rhode Island, LEGO in Boston, or Aetna in Hartford, partnerships with major employers offer a win-win. These companies need workers with updated technical skills, and they save money by upskilling current workers compared to new hires. Employees, meanwhile, are much more likely to complete reskilling programs when those programs are endorsed by their employers.
The bottom line is this: The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of preparation. Northeastern governments will need to take the lead — and will need to do so together. In the past few years alone, Northeastern states have worked together constructively, across party lines, to find real solutions on issues from energy to public health. Collective expertise offers an antidote to complex policy problems.
AI poses the greatest economic challenge in living memory. Economic and social stability in the AI era will be defined by preparation on a larger scale than states can handle individually. A collective strategy will be more important than ever — not just to keep the region thriving, but to support the New England families bracing for what’s to come.
Connor Diemand-Yauman and Rebecca Taber Staehelin are the co-founders and co-CEOs of Merit America, a national nonprofit building a mainstream path to the middle class for Americans stuck in low-wage work.