- The digital revolution, the drive to “go green” and other factors are reshaping the global world of work at an unprecedented rate.
- Autonomous and electric vehicle specialists top the list of fastest-growing jobs in 2023.
- AI and smart technologies are making roles like bank teller, cashier and data entry clerk obsolete – these roles could see the fastest rate of decline in the next five years.
Dis-rup-tion.
This one word encapsulates what’s happening in the global labor market, which is constantly being reshaped by the digital revolution, efforts to decarbonize in the face of the climate crisis and other geopolitical and social changes.
In the next five years, almost a quarter of jobs (23%) are expected to change through growth of 10.2% and decline of 12.3%, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report (pdf).
Employers anticipate 69 million new jobs to be created and 83 million eliminated – a net decrease of 14 million jobs, or 2% of current employment.
What’s driving the future of jobs?
Macrotrends, including the green transition, ESG standards and localization of supply chains, are the leading drivers of job growth, with economic challenges including high inflation, slower economic growth and supply shortages posing the greatest threat.
Advancing technology adoption and increasing digitization will cause significant labour market churn, with an overall net positive in job creation.
More than three-quarters of the 803 companies surveyed for the report are looking to adopt big data, cloud computing and AI technologies in the coming five years.
Autonomous and electric vehicle specialists are in hot demand, topping the list of most in-demand jobs for 2023, with more than 40% growth expected in the coming five years.
Close behind, AI and machine learning specialists could see only slightly less job growth, followed by environmental protection professionals with an expected 35% increase over the same period.
Sustainability specialists, fintech engineers, and several analyst roles – including business, information security, and data – together with data scientists, are each set to see a more than 30% growth rate.
While the digital revolution is a catalyst for some of the fastest-growing occupations, many non-technological roles are expected to see the biggest increases in the total number of jobs created.
Heavy truck and bus drivers, vocational education teachers, and mechanics and machinery repairers look set to see around 2 million new jobs each between 2023-2027, which are among the fastest absolute growth rates of any occupation.
What goes up …
While the sustainability and technical revolutions are causing digital- and sustainability-based roles to balloon, the prevalence of some more traditional roles is expected to fall.
Online banking has led to the closure of many physical bank branches, which leaves bank teller and related clerk jobs expected to see an estimated 40% decline before the end of the decade – the fastest rate of any job.
Similarly, the growing influence of automation, sensor technologies and online services are reducing the need for postal service clerks, cashier and ticket office clerks and data entry staff. These occupations are each expected to decline by more than a third in the coming five years.
In terms of highest absolute job losses, data clerks fare the worst, with an expected 8 million job losses within five years, followed by administrative and executive secretaries, and accounting, bookkeeping and patrol clerks. These three occupations combined account for more than half of total expected job destruction, the Future of Jobs 2023 report notes.
A greener jobs future
To compensate for expected job losses, global efforts to decarbonize in response to the climate crisis are giving rise to a wealth of green jobs across sectors and industries. A green-recovery scenario could generate around 3.5% of additional global GDP growth and a net employment gain of 9 million new jobs each year, according to International Energy Agency data.
The green transition could create 30 million jobs globally in clean energy, efficiency and low-emissions technologies by 2030. But while there has been continued growth in green jobs for the past four years, reskilling and upskilling towards green skills is not keeping pace.
“For people around the world, the past three years have been filled with upheaval and uncertainty for their lives and livelihoods, with COVID-19, geopolitical and economic shifts, and the rapid advancement of AI and other technologies now risks adding more uncertainty,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum.
“The good news is that there is a clear way forward to ensure resilience. Governments and businesses must invest in supporting the shift to the jobs of the future through the education, reskilling and social support structures that can ensure individuals are at the heart of the future of work.”
