Manufacturing jobs are finally returning to North America…for robots

Manufacturing jobs are finally returning to North America…for robots

Amazon fulfillment centres use robots for a growing number of tasks. (Brandon Bailey/AP) Let’s start with the good news: manufacturing is returning to North America. It is called “re-shoring” and is happening for several reasons. Chief among these is that labour costs in Canada and the United States are becoming relatively more competitive as the Chinese economy soared and wages there gradually caught up to more developed economies. But there are other factors at play here, too.

In North America, corporate tax rates have become more globally competitive, as has the cost of energy. Land is also far cheaper in […]

Does Automation Really Wreck People’s Lives and Cause Unemployment?

Does Automation Really Wreck People’s Lives and Cause Unemployment?

There seems to be a lot of fear mongering, especially in the UK, when it comes to automation and the role it plays in causing unemployment, despite evidence that suggests the contrary. Throughout the ages, as humanity evolved, so has the technology and now advancements from the automation industry are helping people work better, faster and in safer conditions, as many jobs that are dangerous can now be performed by robots . However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that by embracing the benefits of automation, employees’ jobs will be at risk and millions of jobs will disappear.

Instead, what’s been happening […]

Work in an automated future

Disruptive technologies are now dictating our future, as new innovations increasingly blur the lines between physical, digital and biological realms. Robots are already in our operating rooms and fast-food restaurants; we can now use 3D imaging and stem-cell extraction to grow human bones from a patient’s own cells; and 3D printing is creating a circular economy in which we can use and then reuse raw materials.

This tsunami of technological innovation will continue to change profoundly how we live and work, and how our societies operate. In what is now called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, technologies that are coming of […]

To Fix Employment, Fix Automation–The Real Job Killer Of Our Age

President Trump likes to blame trade, immigration, and over-regulation for job losses in the American heartland. But that’s generally not how economists see it. They say machines are a more important reason why companies don’t employ people like they used to. In several industries, like steel, industrial output is as high as it’s always been. It’s just that manufacturers need less labor to do the work. “Almost 88 percent of job losses in manufacturing in recent years can be attributable to productivity growth,” one recent study by economists at Ball State University said.

If it’s true that automation is more […]

Greens look to basic income for poverty

Greens look to basic income for poverty

Sonia Furstenau — image credit: file Sonia Furstenau

I applaud The Citizen for asking the question “What will candidates do about poverty?”, as it’s a crucial issue, and one that needs urgent political action.

As a teacher at Dwight School in Shawnigan Lake, we participated in several community-based initiatives to fill gaps created by poverty in the region. Each year students and teachers ran a food drive to collect food and funds for the CMS Food Bank in Mill Bay. I also coordinated with Meals on the Ground to get Dwight students to participate in this terrific local effort; many […]

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

In the Automation Debate, Don’t Forget the Job Multiplier Effect

Emsi Senior Economist/Co-Founder In his 1950s satire Player Piano , author Kurt Vonnegut describes a dark dystopia where automation has led to a world of meager consumption and desperate idleness. The vision of workers displaced by machines predates this though, and is perhaps most associated with the 19 th century Luddite movement where workers sabotaged machinery for fear of losing jobs. In economic thought, the prospect of labor-replacing technology has a still much longer history.

The opinion of most economists has been that “Luddite fears” are misplaced. New technology is economically synonymous with increased efficiency, new and cheaper products, […]

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

The definition of “maximum employment” needs updating

“IT IS fair to say the economy is near maximum employment,” said Janet Yellen, chairman of the Federal Reserve, in recent comments preparing markets for rate rises to come. But “maximum employment”, like pornography, is in the eye of the beholder. American adults, of whom only about 69% have a job, seem less than maximally employed. In previous eras, governments of countries scarred by economic hardship set themselves the goal of “full” employment. Today, the target is termed “maximum”. But it is the same concept. It needs a bit of updating.

Ms Yellen has a particular definition of maximum employment […]

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

Increased automation guarantees a bleak outlook for Trump’s promises to coal miners

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President Trump has made promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an uphill battle: automation.

President Trump has made empty promises to make the coal industry great again, vowing to reverse decades of the industry’s downward employment trajectory. In previous blog posts (see here and here ), we have shown how his promises to put coal miners back to work will be a tall order. Here, we introduce another reason why coal will face an […]

Trump’s TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

Trump's TPP pullout could hurt workers more than it helps

When he signed the executive order formally scrapping a trade deal with 11 Pacific Rim countries, President Donald Trump proclaimed the move a "great thing for the American worker."

But a chorus of trade experts and economists this week have argued that the pulling out of the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership will have exactly the opposite impact.

"Virtually all economic analyses of the proposed TPP … provided empirical arguments that the TPP would raise U.S. workers’ income, both for highly educated and less educated workers," according to Jeffrey Bergstrand, finance professor at the University of Notre Dame and a former Federal Reserve […]

The Case For Universal Basic Income

The Case For Universal Basic Income

When the government provides a basic income to all citizens of the country without any conditions attached, it is termed as universal basic income. It is a form of social security. There is increasing debate in the developed countries about the introduction of Universal Basic Income.

The combination of four factors, globalization, outsourcing, automaton, and the increasing adaptation and use of artificial intelligence is taking a growing toll on the low-income and middle-class sections of the society in developed countries, which is prompting the debate for the introduction of universal basic income.

In Canada, manufacturing employment has decreased. According to Statistics […]