Coronavirus-related recession could spike automation

The coronavirus pandemic could accelerate the rise of the robots, according to a Brookings Institution blog post Tuesday.

Why it matters: A COVID-19-caused recession will likely lead to a spike in automation, meaning some of the jobs lost to the virus will never return as companies restructure their operations to rely more on machines than people.

Details: Mark Muro, a senior fellow and policy director of Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program, says an ongoing trend of companies replacing less-skilled workers with a combination of technology and higher-skilled employees has accelerated under recent downturns. A recession induced by the coronavirus would be no different.

• Jobs most likely to be affected are those in the food service, manufacturing and transportation/warehousing sectors, with research showing roughly 36 million jobs have a “high” susceptibility to automation.
• Rust Belt cities — already hit with industrial automation — could face further job loss as automation moves to the service industry.
• Young workers and Hispanic workers are among those most likely to find their jobs threatened in a recession, because of their overrepresentation in food service, production and construction.

"There’s likely going to be no rest [for] the weary if COVID-19 lingers. Along with a public health crisis and epidemic of illness, the virus may well spur a downturn that brings a new spike of automation and lasting changes to an already evolving ... job market."

Go deeper:

• Tech firms crunch coronavirus data to track disease spread
• AI is coming for white-collar workers