Home
/
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
/
How automation could transform the labor force over the next decade
How automation could transform the labor force over the next decade
Jan 25, 2026 5:21 AM

Over the next decade, automation will increase, changing the nature of the way we work. While this will lead to more jobs in the long-run it could also lead to an occupational shift on a scale not seen since the transition of the labor force out of agriculture in the early 1900s in the United States and Europe.

Those are some of the findings ina new report by the McKinsey Global Institute.Here are some of the highlights from the study:

Automation will affect many workers—but few jobs can be fully automated

Almost half of work activities people are paid to do globally could theoretically be automated using currently demonstrated technologies. In about 60 percent of occupations, at least one-third of the constituent activities could be automated, implying substantial workplace transformations and changes for all workers. Very few occupations—less than 5 percent—consist of activities that can be fully automated.

Automation will affect some jobs more than others—but even those jobs aren’t likely to disappear

Jobs that require physical labor in predictable environments (such as operating machinery) are more susceptible to automation. The same is routine tasks such as preparing fast food or processing data. As the report notes, this could displace large amounts of labor in areas such as mortgage origination, paralegal work, accounting, and back-office transaction processing. While the number of jobs may decline in industries especially prone to automation, they will likely still exist and merely involve different tasks.

Relatively low-paying jobs in unpredictable environments are less susceptible

Occupations such as gardeners, plumbers, or providers of child- and eldercare will generally see less automation by 2030, because they are technically difficult to automate and mand relatively lower wages.

Many jobs and industries are expected to increase

The report notes several industries that are expected to have job growth net of automation:

healthcare providersprofessionals such as engineers, scientists, accountants, and analystsIT professionals and other technology specialistsmanagers and executives, whose work cannot easily be replaced by machineseducators, especially in emerging economies with young populations“creatives,” a small but growing category of artists, performers, and entertainers who will be in demand as rising es create more demand for leisure and recreationbuilders and related professions, particularly in the scenario that involves higher investments in infrastructure and buildingsmanual and service jobs in unpredictable environments, such as home-health aides and gardeners

Many people around the globe will need to change occupations

The report estimates that between 400 million and 800 million individuals could be displaced by automation and need to find new jobs by 2030 around the world, based on our midpoint and most rapid automation adoption scenarios. Up to one-third of the 2030 workforce in the United States may need to switch jobs or industries.

The shift could be on a scale not seen since the transition of the labor force out of agriculture in the early 1900s in the United States and Europe, and more recently in in China.

There should still be enough work for everyone

The report notes that If history is any guide, we could also expect that 8 to 9 percent of 2030 labor demand will be in new types of occupations that have not existed before.

Comments
Welcome to mreligion comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
RELIGION & LIBERTY ONLINE
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Matthew 7:7-11   (Read Matthew 7:7-11)   Prayer is the appointed means for obtaining what we need. Pray; pray often; make a business of prayer, and be serious and earnest in it. Ask, as a beggar asks alms. Ask, as a traveller asks the way. Seek, as for a thing of value that we have lost;...
Verse of the Day
  John 3:16 In-Context   14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,The Greek for lifted up also means exalted .   15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.Some interpreters end the quotation with verse 21.   16 For God so loved the world that he gave his...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Proverbs 20:3   (Read Proverbs 20:3)   To engage in quarrels is the greatest folly that can be. Yield, and even give up just demands, for peace' sake.   Proverbs 20:3 In-Context   1 Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler; whoever is led astray by them is not wise.   2 A king's wrath strikes terror like...
Verse of the Day
  Revelation 1:8 In-Context   6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father-to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.   7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,Daniel 7:13and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him.Zech. 12:10So...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Ephesians 2:1-10   (Read Ephesians 2:1-10)   Sin is the death of the soul. A man dead in trespasses and sins has no desire for spiritual pleasures. When we look upon a corpse, it gives an awful feeling. A never-dying spirit is now fled, and has left nothing but the ruins of a man. But if...
Verse of the Day
  Romans 8:35,38-39 In-Context   33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.   34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.   35 Who shall separate us from the...
Verse of the Day
  Micah 7:18 In-Context   16 Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their power. They will put their hands over their mouths and their ears will become deaf.   17 They will lick dust like a snake, like creatures that crawl on the ground. They will come trembling out of their dens; they will turn in fear to the Lord...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on Psalm 25:1-7   (Read Psalm 25:1-7)   In worshipping God, we must lift up our souls to him. It is certain that none who, by a believing attendance, wait on God, and, by a believing hope, wait for him, shall be ashamed of it. The most advanced believer both needs and desires to be taught of...
Verse of the Day
  Commentary on Today's Verse   Commentary on John 14:18-24   (Read John 14:18-24)   Christ promises that he would continue his care of his disciples. I will not leave you orphans, or fatherless, for though I leave you, yet I leave you this comfort, I will come to you. I will come speedily to you at my resurrection. I will come daily to...
Verse of the Day
  Isaiah 26:9 In-Context   7 The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.   8 Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws,Or judgmentswe wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.   9 My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved