The Great Reset -- Vanishing jobs

Five years after the start of the Great Recession, the toll is terrifyingly clear: Millions of middle-class jobs have been lost in developed countries the world over. Worse, those jobs weren't just lost to China and other developing countries. No one got them. They vanished, victims of increasingly sophisticated software and machines that can do tasks faster, cheaper and often better than humans. Here is a photo gallery of jobs especially hard hit by the technological onslaught:

Section:Gallery

Fri., Jan. 25, 2013

This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, a teller at the Taipei Bank, in 2002, in Taipei, Taiwan, and the 2011 Bank of America mobile application on a mobile device. Many middle-class workers have lost jobs because powerful software and computerized machines are doing tasks that only humans could do before.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows a worker, left, assembling a motor in a Mercedes Benz factory in 2008 in Berlin, and a robot, right, painting a brake drum at Webb Wheel Products, in 2013, in Cullman, Ala.. Thanks to robots, Webb Wheel hasn't added a factory worker in over three years, though it's making 300,000 more drums annually, a 25 percent increase.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, a train conductor in 2011, in New Brunswick, N.J., and right, Tokyo's Yurikamome Line that runs without any drivers or conductors along Tokyo Bay, in 2013. Katsuya Hagane, the manager in charge of operations at New Transit Yurikamome, with just 60 regular employees, says the automated system helps keeps hiring down.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, the General Services Administration telephone switchboard and its operators in 1951, and right, Siri, Apple's virtual assistant, on the Apple iPhone 4S in 2011, in San Francisco. The number of switchboard and telephone operators in the U.S. fell from 182,000 to 73,000 in 10 years through 2010 because of new technology.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, passengers checking-in at an American Airlines ticketing counter in 2011, in Dallas, and right, a row of self-check-in kiosks in 2012, in Seattle. Many middle-class workers have lost jobs because powerful software and computerized machines are doing tasks that only humans could do before.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, mail carrier Mike Gillis delivering mail in 2011, in Montpelier, Vt., and right, Microsoft Outlook being demonstrated on a desktop computer in 2013, in New York. The number of "mail carriers" in the U.S. fell 10 percent from 358,000 to 321,000 in ten years through 2010.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, Tori Stinson at Meadowbrook Insurance Company checking a client's paperwork in 2004 in Southfield, Mich., and right, the TurboTax online tax computer program is displayed on a computer in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2008. The number of bookkeeping, accounting and auditing clerks fell from 1.7 million to 1.3 million in the U.S in ten years through 2010.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, toll collector Anthony Morris working a booth at the Rip Van Winkle Bridge in Catskill, N.Y., in 2012, and, right, Manisha Padhye holding up an E-Z Pass in 2009, in Broadview Heights, Ohio. Many middle-class workers have lost jobs because powerful software and computerized machines are doing tasks that only humans could do before.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, Yolanda Boozer, a secretary in the office of President Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1963, in Washington, and right, a reminder application as demonstrated on an iPhone, in 2013, in New York. The number secretaries and administrative assistants in the U.S. fell from 4.2 million to 3.1 million in ten years through 2010.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, travel agent, Gabriele Herlitschka leafing through an Asia and Australia travel catalogue in her travel agency office in 2002, in Duesseldorf, Germany, and right, Expedia worker Mike Brown in an alcove set up for employees in 2013, in Bellevue, Wash. The number travel agents fell 46 percent from 142,000 to 76,000 in ten years through 2010.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, an information technology room in 2001, in Hurst, Texas, and right, a SAP server room in 2012, in Walldorf, Germany. SAP allows companies to use cloud computing to track sales and inventory without needing to hire IT employees.
This combination of Associated Press file photos shows Steven Herman, left, head of the Library of Congress storage facility, at the Library of Congress in 2003, in Washington, and right, a "bookBot", an automated retrieval system at the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University in 2013, in Raleigh, N.C. Many middle-class workers have lost jobs because powerful software and computerized machines are doing tasks that only humans could do before.