The Effect of Technology on the Job Market
By: Ava Landmeyer
It used to be that the not getting the job usually meant that there was simply a better applicant than yourself. Maybe they were more qualified, professional, or had a better interview than yourself. However, it is becoming more and more common that the more qualified “applicant” who was chosen over you for that position you were hoping for may have not even been a person, but rather, a computer.
“The robots are taking our jobs”. This phrase is commonly heard in relation to the debate on the effect of technology on our job market. However, as shown in the graph above, there are two sides to this argument. As technology and artificial intelligence continue to advance, many jobs are facing a declining demand. Much of the fear that surrounds the idea of technological advancements taking over the workplace has came about due to the crippling debt, unemployment, and the cost of education that many are already facing. Technological advances have reduced the need for jobs that are centered around routine, mechanized work, such as data entry keyers, typists, and similar jobs shown to be declining in the graph above. In fact, an Oxford study predicted job losses of up to 47% within 50 years. Similarly, the McKinsey Global Institute reported that an estimated 375 million jobs will be eliminated due to technological advancements by 2030. Even in the current times, 25% of jobs in the U.S. are being threatened by automation. According to a similar study as shown in the graph, the jobs most at risk for being replaced by artificial intelligence are telemarketers, computer support specialists, receptionists, and similar occupations. Advancements in technology have not yet revealed the effect that they are going to have on our economy, although many of these statistics point to the idea that many will be at risk for becoming unemployed. Unfortunately, those with the lowest incomes will be most affected by this shift, as the majority of the jobs with the ability to be replaced by technology will be those with the lowest.
wages.
However, there is another valid side to this argument: what about all the jobs being created by the new and exciting advancements in technology? As shown in the graph above, the occupations with the most estimated growth are jobs related to fields requiring high-skilled technical, analytical, and personal work. This shift is job growth is due to the fact that, while technology is proving to be advancing at an impressive rate, it has not yet reached the point of being able to replace jobs that involve emotional and personal aspects, such as home health aides, or highly-skilled analytical jobs, such as nurse practitioners or software developers. Additionally, the advancements of technology itself are posing the idea of many brand new jobs being made available. In fact, an estimate made by the World Economic Forum stated that while 75 million jobs may be lost in the next four years due to a shift towards more automation in the workplace, 133 million new jobs will also emerge as a result of this shift.
So, what’s the correct answer? Is technology going to hurt or harm the job marker of the American citizen? Unfortunately, we haven’t quite reached that answer yet. Technology will without a doubt eliminate many of the jobs that offer employment during the current age, such as receptionists, data analysts, telemarketers, etc. However, technological advancements will certainly also provide for some brand new occupations and opportunities within the field of technology. Therefore, we cannot say with certainty that technological advancements and reliance on automation and artificial intelligence can either harm or help the economy or job market. However, the statistics and predictions for how this shift will impact our economy and the future of the job market allows us to make educated decisions as to how we employ ourselves and the future generation, as well as the value of a live, breathing employee over a generic computer.
Works Cited
Bernazzani, Sophia. “10 Jobs Artificial Intelligence Will Replace (and 10 That Are Safe).” HubSpot Blog, blog.hubspot.com/marketing/jobs-artificial-intelligence-will-replace.
Brown, Steven, and Pamela J. Loprest. “How Is Technological Advancement Changing the Labor Market?” Urban Institute, 21 June 2019, www.urban.org/urban-wire/how-technological-advancement-changing-labor-market.
Shaban, Hamza. “Machines Will Create 58 Million More Jobs than They Displace by 2022, World EconomicForum Says.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 18 Sept. 2018,
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2018/09/18/machines-will-create-million-more-jobs-than-they-
displace-by-world-economic-forum-says/.
I do not think that robots will hurt the market, there are new products, jobs, and restaurants everyday. Yes robots are being used to do jobs humans had but its not always a negative. A company would not use a robot unless it is profitable, if this is profitable there business will do better, there stock will raise, there company will make more, and in the end the employed could possibly get a nice bonus or raise with the excess money. Overall robots might be seen as a negative now, but in the long run they have the ability to have positive lasting effects on society.
ReplyDeleteI had forgotten that people were paid to type this was i think that it was cool to get both side like what jobs did it create. The jobs that are the ones building the machines for all of the factories.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post provides a very good argument on both sides of this topic, but personally I agree with the point that technology is creating a negative impact on jobs in America. As we can see with stores like walmart and target, the cashiers are barely necessary anymore because of the self-checkout. The small jobs like these are going to get overthrown first and then it will continue to climb up until almost every aspect of life is full of technology. I think your point about technology making things easier is very true, but the financial lives of humans is way more precious than technology. I think technology can make jobs easier and efficient in some cases, but jobs that deal with communicating to others should continue to be run by humans: the joy of human interaction.
ReplyDeleteI very much agree and appreciate the topic stated and how it was discussed. I think that the issue here as stated above is the fact that robots are replacing simple, lower level, lower paying jobs. Requiring a lot of more technical skills in STEM fields. While these are exciting new jobs that are being created through technological advancement a lot of people who cannot afford the education to be able to complete these new jobs is an issue. I personally am excited and support innovation and technological advancements, however I agree that without a doubt robots truly are taking our jobs. While I personally will be going into a field of science where robots cannot perform the tasks I will be doing and I feel that this innovation is exciting, I recognize the issue of more education required for those wanting to participate in the new jobs created from advancing technology.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see visually how tech effects the stock market. It's also good to see how having tech skills improves your chance of getting jobs later down the line.
ReplyDelete