More than a third of U. S. jobs could be at “high risk” of automation by the early 2030s, a percentage that’s greater than the odds in the U. K., Germany and Japan, according to a report.
More than a third of U. S. jobs could be at “high risk” of automation by the early 2030s, a percentage that’s greater than in Britain, Germany and Japan, according to a report released Friday.
The analysis by accounting and consulting firm PwC focused primarily on the economic outlook in Britain, but it included a section on automation in Britain and elsewhere.
In the U. S., 38% of jobs could be at risk of automation, compared with 30% in Britain, 35% in Germany and 21% in Japan.
The report emphasizes that these estimates are based on the anticipated capabilities of robotics and artificial intelligence by the early 2030s, and that the pace and direction of technological progress are “uncertain.”
The key issue is not that the U. S. has more jobs in sectors that are universally ripe for automation, the report says; rather, it’s that more U. S. jobs in certain sectors are potentially vulnerable than, say, British jobs in the same sectors.
For example, the report says the financial and insurance sector has much higher possibility of automation in the U. S. than in Britain. That’s because, it says, American finance workers are less educated than British ones.
While London finance employees work in international markets, their U. S. counterparts focus more on the domestic retail market, and workers “do not need to have the same educational levels,” the report said.
