Tag: productivity

This Is The Hidden Challenge In The Future Of Work

This Is The Hidden Challenge In The Future Of Work

[Photo: Rawpixel/iStock] On the heels of a mostly positive jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) (4.6% unemployment is the lowest it’s been in nine years), the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) released a more sobering snapshot of the world of work.

A briefing by MGI director James Manyika, compiled from the company’s extensive research, took a deeper dive into employment numbers. He writes: In the United States and the 15 core European Union countries (E.U.-15), there are 285 million adults who are not in the labor force—and at least 100 million of them would like to work more. […]

Jobs For All

Jobs For All

Line for unemployment benefits in San Francisco, CA in 1938. Dorothea Lange / Library of Congress The new issue of Jacobin is out now. To mark its release, we’re offering discounted introductory subscriptions . ull Employment . . . has become an aim of Conservative policy and the strongest argument against socialist critics.” That’s famed economist Joan Robinson, in 1962 trolling to her left and her right. British unemployment had been below 2 percent for most of the period since the war, without runaway inflation. Keynes had solved the problem of unemployment, converted the Conservatives, and stolen the communists’ […]

Mark Carney: ‘Every technological revolution mercilessly destroys jobs well before the new ones emerge’

Mark Carney: 'Every technological revolution mercilessly destroys jobs well before the new ones emerge'

A protester dressed as a robot takes part in a march by Belgian public sector workers in central Brussels, Belgium, May 31, 2016. LONDON — Bank of England Governor Mark Carney thinks the jobs market is experiencing "great disruption" due to technology and believes governments, and corporations have a duty to help people manage the change.

In a wide-ranging speech on the economy in Liverpool on Monday , the governor said the world is "in the midst of a technological revolution that is once again changing the nature of work." He highlighted a past speech from the Bank of […]

Welcome to our automated future

Welcome to our automated future

I’ve written a number of pieces now detailing how progress in technology is impacting our lives. The bottom line is that remarkable strides in recent years have made current realities out of things that would have fallen into the category of science fiction not that long ago. Many of these developments will wind up having a direct impact on employment and the work force. This isn’t a new phenomenon. That is what technology does. As long as there has been technology, it has altered the workforce.

The challenges posed by this became clear in the industrial revolution. The term “Luddite […]

Are store cashiers the next disappearing job?

Are store cashiers the next disappearing job?

I don’t usually use the self-service checkout at the hardware or grocery stores and it’s not because I don’t know how. It’s because I want people to have jobs.

Today’s video from Amazon is a little frightening, suggesting that the checkout people will be the latest group to be phased out by technology. The Amazon Go store is being tested in Seattle. Walk in, take what you need, and pay automatically. Who needs humans?

No doubt there are plenty of reasons why this is a great idea. And yet, the future is scary.Many of the jobs that “left” the United States […]

What the Robots are Doing to the Middle Class

What the Robots are Doing to the Middle Class

PAUL BUCHHEIT FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT (Photo: FANUC 6-axis welding robots) The simplistic response to the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment is that we’ve experienced this before, during the Industrial Revolution and beyond, and that the "market" will eventually provide plenty of jobs. The reality is that tens of millions of Americans will have to accept food service and retail and personal care jobs that don’t pay a living wage.

The Deniers: The Middle Class Has Nothing to Worry About

Optimism is the feeling derived from sources like The Economist , which assures us that "AI will […]

Supply Chain News: Distribution Center Jobs Still Growing, but Automation and Robots having Increasing Impact

Supply Chain News: Distribution Center Jobs Still Growing, but Automation and Robots having Increasing Impact

All told, warehouse and distribution employment remains a bright spot on the US jobs front. For example, warehousing operators added 3,100 jobs from October to November, and have boosted payrolls by 47,400 jobs over the past 12 months, according to statistics from the US Dept. of Labor. All told there are about 880,000 warehouse workers in the US, with 103,00 of them in California.
While Amazon still has tens of thousands of DC workers doing very manual and repetitive labor, depending on the specifics of each facility, its hiring profile is also starting to change. But those numbers, which […]

They Took Our Jobs! Is Globalization Really to Blame for Job Losses?

They Took Our Jobs! Is Globalization Really to Blame for Job Losses?

There has been a long running debate about the loss of American manufacturing jobs over the last decade. Blame for job losses is largely laid at the door of globalization, specifically China.

The rhetoric was ramped up in the recent presidential election campaign when both candidates came out firmly against more globalization but Donald Trump in particular, strongly criticized China for stealing American jobs and vowed to return those jobs to the U.S., has placed the issue even more sharply under the spotlight. Is globalization really the culprit for moving jobs from the U.S. to elsewhere? Or is it merely […]

Robots, jobs and the human fear of change

Robots, jobs and the human fear of change

Steve Cousins is founder and CEO of Savioke , which develops and deploys autonomous robots that work in human environments to improve people’s lives. Steve was previously president and CEO of robotics incubator Willow Garage.

How to join the network

When it comes to technology’s impact on the economy, there continues to be concern that robots and other advances will lead to unemployment. But what does history really tell us about the impact of new technologies on jobs and the economy? And more importantly, what happens to America’s ability to compete in a global economy if we reject automation […]

How new manufacturing technology will impact jobs

How new manufacturing technology will impact jobs

Humans still have an important role to play in manufacturing and supply chain environments. The world is changing but what does this mean for the future of work? Pierfranceso Manenti, vice president – research, SCM World, explains.

There has been a lot of scaremongering about the future of workers’ jobs and the role manufacturing technology plays in this; the fear of being replaced by a robot has existed for decades and is one that the media loves to play on. Pierfranceso Manenti, vice president – research, The reality, however, is more subtle. Jobs in industry will continue to exist, but […]