Is There a Need for Labor in the US?

As technology and information play a bigger role in business and our lives, labor becomes less necessary. The industries to which those workers shifted are in turn losing jobs due to the importation of foreign goods made with cheap labor or especially automation. I worry about where the workers no longer needed in manufacturing will find employment. Can we afford to support growing numbers of unemployed workers and their families? And how will we replace the non monetary benefits from work, things like having a place to go each day and satisfaction with the job well done?