Jul 11, 2019

The coming impact of automation

Kim Hart

Robots on a Ford assembly line in Michigan. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Automation will have the biggest impact on entry-level and older workers, because more of their jobs tend to be routine or physical in nature and are most likely to be taken over by machines and algorithms, according to a forthcoming McKinsey Global Institute report.

Why it matters: Almost 40% of U.S. jobs are in categories expected to shrink between now and 2030.

  • Automation will affect some of the country's largest occupational categories: office support, food service, production work, customer service and retail sales.
  • The hollowing out of middle-wage work will likely continue, per the report, without deliberate intervention to provide workers with skills they need to get higher-paying jobs.

Women may be better positioned than men for the automation-era jobs, with McKinsey data suggesting women could capture 58% of net job growth through 2030.

  • That's largely because of women's heavy representation in health professions and personal care work.
  • The catch: Many of those jobs are not high-paying.

Go deeper: The next big inequality crisis

Go deeper

Kim Hart

Exclusive: The next big inequality crisis

Data: McKinsey Global Institute; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Think polarization and inequality are bad now? Buckle up: big cities are poised to get bigger, richer and more powerful — at the expense of the rest of America, a new report by McKinsey Global Institute shows.

Why it matters: McKinsey's analysis of 315 cities and more than 3,000 counties shows only the healthiest local economies will be able to successfully adapt to disruptions caused by the next wave of automation. Wide swaths of the country, especially already-distressed rural regions, are in danger of shedding more jobs.

Go deeperArrowJul 11, 2019
Sudha Jamthe

Automation in mobility is outpacing skills re-training programs

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

The shift towards automation in transportation and mobility is expected to eliminate jobs, but it could also create opportunities, like training the artificial intelligence that powers machines.

The big picture: Members of the workforce who will be impacted need to be trained in the key areas of data literacy, higher cognition decision making and emotional skills — but currently there are few organizations providing that training.

Go deeperArrowJul 17, 2019
Erica Pandey

The threat to the $100,000-a-year tech worker

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Much of the discussion around the future of work focuses on what is already disappearing: jobs in factories, on farms, and in restaurants.

But coming automation-fueled job losses and changes will reverberate far beyond — and eventually reach seemingly safe workers in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street.

Go deeperArrowJul 15, 2019