Forrester Predicts Net Loss of 1.42 Million US Jobs by 2032
Automation will claim more than 11 million U.S. jobs over the next decade, according to a report released Tuesday by Forrester.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that at the same time automation will create 9.63 million new jobs. For a net job loss for the period of 1.42 million jobs.
“The gap in jobs will present challenges to public policymakers,” observed one of the authors of the report, Forrester Vice President and Principal Analyst J. P. Gownder.
“It will mean that employees need additional reskilling into other professions, which isn’t something that every worker can accomplish on their own,” he told TechNewsWorld.
Reskilling Required
Jayant Narayan, manager of the Global AI Action Alliance of the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental and lobbying organization based in Cologny, Switzerland, added that those job losses would create challenges for both the government and private sectors.
“For governments, it raises questions around social safety nets, investment in life-long learning programs and STEM training for citizens, among other factors,” he told TechNewsWorld.
“Some of these parameters, like reskilling would have a medium to longer-term horizon,” he added. “as there might not be a quick fix or a quick reskilling opportunity.”
80% of Jobs Touched by Tech
Universities can contribute to reskilling by creating hybrid courses that blend humanities and science, maintained Narayan. “Engineers need to understand the ethics of systems and their ramifications before designing them,” he said.
West, though, asserted that community colleges are doing a better job than four-year institutions in preparing students for jobs.
“Community colleges are more geared to the local job market,” he said. “They’re trying to give people practical skills that will get them jobs. Some universities are training people for the workforce that used to exist. As opposed to the one that is emerging now.”
Forrester explained that the new jobs created by automation will be in professional services and information technology. As well as in new industries, such as renewable energy, green buildings and smart cities and infrastructure.
