According to the World Economic Forum’s ‘Future of Jobs’ report, almost 25% of jobs will be disrupted in the next five years, with some eliminated and others created. The report is based on a survey of 803 companies that employ a total of 11.3 million workers in 45 different economies around the world. The disruption will be driven by a range of factors, from technological developments like artificial intelligence to climate change. The decline of administrative roles will be driven mainly by digitalization and automation. However, the impact of most technologies on jobs is expected to be a net positive over the next five years. Big data analytics, climate change and environmental management technologies, and encryption and cybersecurity are expected to be the biggest drivers of job growth. AI is described as a “key driver of potential algorithmic displacement” of roles in the report, and almost 75% of companies surveyed are expected to adopt the technology. Some of the sectors that could see boosted job creation linked to technology are education, agriculture and health. Companies becoming greener and adopting higher environmental, social and governance standards are the two biggest drivers of job creation, surveyed companies said, whilst slowing economic growth is expected to be the main contributor to job losses. Other factors that are also likely to lead to job declines in the coming years include the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic, supply shortages and the global cost of living crisis.
