Category: Automation Impact on Jobs

Local economies need to ‘nimble’ to survive what’s coming: expert

Local economies need to ‘nimble’ to survive what's coming: expert

(1 of 5) Computer programmer Bryan Foster on his laptop at co-working office space WORK in Petaluma, California on Thursday, December 10, 2015. (Alvin Jornada / The Press Democrat) The attractiveness of the North Bay as a place to live needs to be coupled with “nimble” community planning for the region’s economy to grow fast during an unprecedented upheaval in the employability of the workforce long term, according to an economic analyst speaking to a group of construction industry professionals.

Proximity to Silicon Valley and temperate weather make the North Bay an attractive location for economic growth, said Mark Lautman, […]

Study: China Trade, Not Automation, Destroying U.S. Jobs

Study: China Trade, Not Automation, Destroying U.S. Jobs

Despite concerns that the robots are coming for our jobs, automation is responsible for only a fourth as many jobs lost as trade with China since the turn of the century, according to a report released Wednesday.

The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute analyzed recent research by economists Daron Acemoglu, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Pascual Restrepo, of Boston University, and concluded that automation is a sideshow compared to the bigger causes of job loss and wage stagnation. “Studies that attempt to estimate the number of jobs that will be potentially lost to automation in the future never seem […]

News from EPI No evidence that automation leads to joblessness or inequality

In The zombie robot argument lurches on , EPI President Lawrence Mishel and Research Director Josh Bivens challenge the popular media narrative that the pace of automation is increasing, and that it will lead to overall joblessness and greater inequality.

Automation—the implementation of new technologies as capital equipment or software replace human labor in the workplace—has been ongoing for decades, and there is no evidence that this has led to greater joblessness or increasing unemployment, even though certain jobs were lost. Simply put, if automation necessarily led to higher unemployment, the United States would have experienced an ever-rising unemployment rate […]

The Biggest Problem With Robots Taking Jobs May Not Be Unemployment—Yet

The Biggest Problem With Robots Taking Jobs May Not Be Unemployment—Yet

Automation is changing the economy and workforce – and significantly. Due to robots, computers and better technology, it takes far fewer workers to get the same amount of economic output. The data are clear: Manufacturing output in the US has never been higher, and yet the number of people employed in that sector has fallen dramatically since 2000. Similarly, retail sales have skyrocketed thanks to Amazon and other e-commerce companies while retail employment stagnates and store closings ramp up.

And more is likely to come: Self-driving cars no longer live in the imagination, but out on the roads of northern […]

Is the Robo-pocalyse Upon Us?

Is the Robo-pocalyse Upon Us?

The argument over the impact of continuing technological advances on labor markets has been around at least since the Industrial Revolution introduced steam power and mechanization to the world. Overall it’s pretty hard to argue that technology has made the world worse, even if its benefits have been mixed.

The current terms of the argument include people who think that the displacement of human workers by automation is either very close at hand or very far in the future.

Economists Daron Acemoglu and Pascual Restrepo recently studied the impact of rising industrial robot usage and found that each new robot reduced […]

Automation, Robots, and Job Losses Could Make Universal Income a Reality

Automation, Robots, and Job Losses Could Make Universal Income a Reality

The rise of automation and resulting job losses those issues incur could force the federal government to guarantee some income for everyone, but that won’t happen for years or even decades, according to some academics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

This sort of payment, usually referred to as Universal Basic Income (UBI), has been embraced by much of Silicon Valley and other tech enclaves, in part to offset anxiety that the technology built in these places is killing off people’s livelihoods.

UBI, if enacted, would be a flat payment to every citizen that would, in theory, act as a basic […]

The biggest problem with robots taking jobs may not be unemployment—yet

The biggest problem with robots taking jobs may not be unemployment—yet

An industrial robot welds a car together. Source: AP Automation is changing the economy and workforce – and significantly. Due to robots, computers and better technology, it takes far fewer workers to get the same amount of economic output.

The data are clear: Manufacturing output in the US has never been higher , and yet the number of people employed in that sector has fallen dramatically since 2000. Similarly, retail sales have skyrocketed thanks to Amazon and other e-commerce companies while retail employment stagnates and store closings ramp up.

And more is likely to come: Self-driving cars no longer live in […]

Mining industry looks towards a new wave of automation

Mining industry looks towards a new wave of automation

Drivers trucks are expected to change the mining industry’s employment landscape. Australia’s mining industry continues to push the boundaries of automation with the use of robots and remote-controlled equipment expanding in the industry.

Automation in mining has a long history as companies look to extract minerals more efficiently and more safely.

However, the new wave of automation has been tipped to change the employment landscape of the industry.James Cook University professor Ian Atkinson said it was likely some jobs would be lost but expected it to happen over a long period of time. "It may happen that as people retire or […]

COMMENT: ‘Could the rise of robots see them replace jobs such as taxi drivers and doctors?

COMMENT: 'Could the rise of robots see them replace jobs such as taxi drivers and doctors?

"The increasing use of robots can be a blessing" David Williamson, Professor of Regulation and Governance at Staffordshire University’s Business School, discusses the effect ‘robots’ could have on employment opportunities

Please Mr Robot, can I have a job?

If the projections are correct the effect of automation on jobs, brought about by advances in artificial intelligence, will be enormous. In Scotland, for example, it is estimated that 46 per cent of jobs will be lost to automation by 2030.Estimates for the U.S. suggest that six per cent of jobs will be lost in four years, with over 50 per cent by […]

Lim Swee Say reveals workforce predictions

Lim Swee Say reveals workforce predictions

Tharman blasts HR in Budget attack on ageism HR leaders have been urged by Deputy PM Tharman Shanmugaratnam to stop their “unstated discrimination” against older workers looking for jobs.

Are you asking illegal interview questions? Have you ever asked a job applicant how old they are? If you have, you might be breaking the law. A leading Singapore employment lawyer looks at which interview questions could land you in hot water.

Advancements in technology worldwide would drive the creation of new jobs, according to Minister for Manpower Lim Swee Say . In a speech at the G20 […]