The 2023 Future of Jobs Report, now in its fourth edition, explores the expected evolution of jobs and skills over the next five years. This comprehensive analysis, obtained by InfoStride News, extends previous evaluations of employer expectations, providing fresh insights into how socio-economic and technological trends will shape the future workplace.
With extensive coverage of macro trends, technology advancements, and workforce transformation strategies, this edition compiles insights from 803 companies employing over 11.3 million workers across 27 industry clusters and 45 economies. The Future of Jobs Survey spans diverse topics, geographies, and sectors, aiming to understand the impact of trends on jobs, skills, and workforce strategies from 2023 to 2027.
Several key factors will influence outcomes in the labor market. Economic, health, and geopolitical shifts in 2023 will lead to varied global labor market outcomes, with high-income nations experiencing tight labor markets while low- and lower-middle-income countries face elevated unemployment. Workers with basic education and women may encounter reduced employment opportunities, and real wages might decline due to a persistent cost-of-living crisis.
Over the next five years, technology adoption is expected to be a pivotal driver of business transformation, with over 85% of surveyed organizations anticipating increased adoption of new technologies and expanded digital access. Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards will also play a substantial role in shaping the future workplace.
Investments in the green transition, supply shortages, and consumer expectations are predicted to impact almost half of companies, overshadowing concerns related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical divisions, and demographic shifts.
Environmental, technology, and economic trends will have significant effects on job creation and destruction. Investments in the green transition, broader ESG standards application, and localized supply chains are expected to drive net job creation. However, technological advancements, especially in new technologies, digital access, and artificial intelligence, may result in job displacement for some companies.
Various technologies are likely to be adopted by over 75% of companies in the next five years, with digital platforms and apps leading the adoption list at 86%. Big data analytics, climate change technologies, and encryption and cybersecurity are anticipated to be major job growth drivers, while agriculture technologies, digital platforms, e-commerce, and AI may contribute to labor-market disruption.
Employers foresee a structural labor market churn of 23% in the next five years, indicating a mix of emerging jobs and declining positions. Supply Chain, Transportation, Media, Entertainment, and Sports are expected to experience heightened churn, while Manufacturing, Retail, and Wholesale of Consumer Goods may experience lower-than-average churn.
The dataset reflects an anticipated net decrease of 14 million jobs, constituting 2% of current employment, with structural job growth of 69 million and a decline of 83 million jobs.
The human-machine interface has undergone a shift, with businesses incorporating automation at a slower pace than initially anticipated. Currently, organizations estimate that 34% of business-related tasks are performed by machines, indicating a marginal 1% increase from the 2020 Future of Jobs Survey.
Projections suggest a revision down to 42% of tasks automated by 2027, with variations ranging from 35% in reasoning and decision-making to 65% in information and data processing. While expectations for displacing physical and manual work by machines have diminished, traits such as reasoning, communicating, and coordinating are expected to become more automatable.
Artificial intelligence, foreseen to be adopted by nearly 75% of surveyed companies, is anticipated to drive high churn, with 50% expecting job growth and 25% anticipating job losses.
The synergy of macro trends and technology adoption will shape specific areas of job growth and decline. Fastest-growing roles are predominantly driven by technology, digitalization, and sustainability, including AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Sustainability Specialists, Business Intelligence Analysts, and Information Security Analysts.
Renewable Energy Engineers and Solar Energy Installation and System Engineers also feature prominently as economies transition towards renewable energy.
On the other hand, fastest-declining roles are chiefly influenced by technology and digitalization, with clerical or secretarial roles like Bank Tellers, Postal Service Clerks, Cashiers, Ticket Clerks, and Data Entry Clerks expected to decline rapidly.
Substantial job growth is anticipated in education, agriculture, and digital commerce and trade. The Education industry expects a 10% job growth, yielding 3 million additional jobs for Vocational Education Teachers and University and Higher Education Teachers. Agricultural professionals, especially Agricultural Equipment Operators, foresee a 30% increase, generating an additional 3 million jobs. Approximately 4 million digitally-enabled roles, including E-Commerce Specialists, Digital Transformation Specialists, and Digital Marketing and Strategy Specialists, are forecasted to see growth.
The most significant losses are predicted in administrative roles and traditional security, factory, and commerce roles. Surveyed organizations anticipate 26 million fewer jobs by 2027 in Record-Keeping and Administrative roles, encompassing Cashiers, Ticket Clerks, Data Entry, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Payroll Clerks, and Administrative and Executive Secretaries. Digitalization and automation are the primary drivers.
Analytical thinking and creative thinking remain paramount skills for workers in 2023. Analytical thinking ranks as the core skill for most companies, constituting 9% of reported core skills on average. Creative thinking, another cognitive skill, ranks second, followed by three self-efficacy skills—resilience, flexibility and agility; motivation and self-awareness; and curiosity and lifelong learning.
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