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
Oct 27, 2026 12:16 PM

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
When Generosity Transforms a Community
Bishop Hannington longed to see an awakening to generosity in his town of Bundibugyo, Uganda, where many viewed giving more as a matter of duty than heartfelt joy. Yet what at first seemed like a significantchallenge soon grew evensteeper. After fleeing their town for two years due to the chaos of civil war, munity returned to Bundibugyo to find their pletely destroyed. “The houses had been torn down, the farms had nothing in them, churches had been demolished, schools had...
New Issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality (18.2)
Our most recent issue of the Journal of Markets & Morality, vol. 18, no. 2, has now been published online and print issues are in the mail. In addition to our regular slate of articles examining the intersections between faith, freedom, markets, and morality, this issue contains the text of the Theology of Work Consultation symposium at the 2014 conference of the Evangelical Theological Society. The subject was “The Economics of the Theological Vocation.” The entire symposium, as well as...
How Churches Can Help the 93 Percent of U.S. Counties That Haven’t Recovered From Recession
“Anyone claiming that America’s economy is in decline is peddling fiction,” said President Obama in last night’s State of the Union address. Technically, the president is correct: The American economy, as a whole, is not in decline. But for most Americans, the state of the American economy is less important than the economy of their state, county, and city. “Americans don’t live in a single economic place,” says Emilia Istrate, the director of research and outreach for the National Association...
10 Quotes for Religious Freedom Day
Thomas Jefferson wanted what he considered to be his three greatest achievements to be listed on his tombstone. The inscription, as he stipulated, reads “Here was buried Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of American Independence, of the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and father of the University of Virginia.” On Saturdaywe celebrate the 230th anniversary of one of those great creations: the passage, in 1786, of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom. Each year, the President declares January...
7 Figures: The Dangers Kids and Teens Face
Parents worry a lot about their kids. But which dangers are most probable? Pew Research recently conducted a study examining the data on the dangers that teens and kids face. Here are seven figures you should know from the report: 1. Around 15 percent of eighth-graders, three-in-ten high-school sophomores and four-in-ten seniors report some use of illicit drugs in the past 12 months. More than 1-in-3 (35.3 percent) high school seniors reported any alcohol use in the past 30 days,...
Alabaster Coffee and the Call to Creative Service
Prior to opening Alabaster Coffee in downtown Williamsport, PA, founder Karl Fisher was in full-time vocational ministry.For many, that sort of transition happens in reverse, but for Fisher, moving from churchplace tomarketplace amplified the scope of his service in new and unexpected ways. “I have already viewed my life as, ‘How are we bringing the Gospel to munity?’” Fisher says. “But now, in many ways, not being a vocational pastor and being in the marketplace, there are definitely aspects of...
Why is the State of the Union Always ‘Strong’?
I have a can’t miss prediction: tonight, when President Obama gives his eighth State of the Union address, he will describe the state of the union as “strong.” (I’ve made this prediction on this blog the past three years, so I’m hoping for a quadfecta of prescience tonight.) Admittedly, predicting that the state of our union will be described as “strong” is about as safe a bet as you can make when es to politics. Over the last hundred years...
The Jedi Knights Templar
The new Star Wars film embodies that ancient human striving for virtue and a higher spiritual order, says Dylan Pahman in this week’s Acton Commentary. The most recent installment in the Star Wars franchise, Episode VII “The Force Awakens” has blasted box-office records like the Death Star destroying Alderan, so far grossing over $1.7 billion. Clearly, the series has massively broad appeal. Much of the draw seems to be the allure of the Jedi, the mystical guardians of the Star...
Federal Government Restores Some Freedom to Free Range Parents
My parents should have been jailed for child neglect. At least that’s what would be their fate if I were growing up today. Fortunately for them (and for me), I was a child during the 1970s, a time when kids were (mostly) free to explore the world. At age seven I was allowed to wander a mile in each direction from my home. By age nine I was exploring the underground sewers and drainage system of Wichita Falls, Texas. When...
The Great Awakening shaped the constitution—and religious freedom
How did religious freedom develop in America? It didn’t happen the way most of us were taught in school—whether in elementary school or law school. In fact, notes legal scholar Richard Garnett, the “standard story” about religious freedom in Early America is profoundly misleading: In my experience, this “standard story” is familiar to most Americans, whether or not they are historians or constitutional lawyers, though lawyers have probably been more exposed to and influenced by it than most. In this...
Related Classification
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.mreligion.com All Rights Reserved