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Robots will steal your job unless you have the human touch

One-fifth of the world's workforce will be affected by the rise of the machines

Robots will steal your job unless you have the human touch
Robots will steal your job unless you have the human touch
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ROBOTS WILL STEAL up to 800 million jobs worldwide by 2030, according to research conducted by consultancy McKinsey Global Institute.

Probing 46 countries and 800 occupations, the researchers reckon up to one-fifth of the world's workforce will be affected by the rise of the machines.

And it's the richer countries that will feel the burn of automation, thanks to companies in nations like the US and Germany having deep enough pockets to afford robot workers.

Machine operators and those working in the food industry are expected to be hit the hardest, as there's plenty of roles that robots can easily slot into.

It's predicted that in the US alone some 39 to 70 million jobs will be handed over to robots; so much for making America great again.

In good old Blighty, 20 per cent of jobs are expected to be lost... providing there are any jobs left after Brexit.

In less affluent nations things are a little more rosy, with India only expected to see nine per cent of its workforce get replaced by robots.

Like all of these reports that conjure up concerns over the robots, the research notes that it's the jobs that require little in the way of social interaction and human empathy that'll be hit the hardest. Doctors, lawyers and bartenders needn't worry too much for the time being.

And as ever, the big shift to automation will open up new job opportunities to people willing to retrain.

"The changes in net occupational growth or decline imply that a very large number of people may need to shift occupational categories and learn new skills in the years ahead," the researchers explained.

"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 China."

The researchers noted that the world's governments will need to help with this transition and have plans to aid the retraining of their citizens.

So it's good news and bad news depending on what you work as and your opinion of robots. Of course, everything could go the way of Terminator and we could all get enslaved or wiped out by robots, which would at least remove the worry about work. µ 

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