More than half of all workplace tasks will be carried out by machines by 2025, organizers of the Davos economic forum said in a report released Monday that highlights the speed with which the labor market will change in coming years.

The World Economic Forum estimates that machines will be responsible for 52 percent of the division of labor as share of hours within seven years, up from just 29 percent today. By 2022, the report says, roughly 75 million jobs worldwide will be lost, but that could be more than offset by the creation of 133 million new jobs.

From the report’s preface

The emerging contours of the new world of work in the Fourth Industrial Revolution are rapidly becoming a lived reality for millions of workers and companies around the world. The inherent opportunities for economic prosperity, societal progress and individual flourishing in this new
world of work are enormous, yet depend crucially on the ability of all concerned stakeholders to instigate reform in education and training systems, labour market policies, business approaches to developing skills, employment arrangements and existing social contracts. Catalysing positive outcomes and a future of good work for all will require bold leadership and an entrepreneurial spirit from businesses and governments, as well as an agile mindset of lifelong learning from employees.

KLAUS SCHWAB
Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum

A major challenge, however, will be training and re-training employees for that new world of work.

“By 2025, the majority of workplace tasks in existence today will be performed by machines or algorithms. At the same time a greater number of new jobs will be created,” said Saadia Zahidi, a WEF board member. “Our research suggests that neither businesses nor governments have fully grasped the size of this key challenge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.”

The “Future of Jobs 2018” report, the second of its kind, is based on a survey of executives representing 15 million employees in 20 economies. Its authors say the outlook for job creation has become more positive since the last report in 2016 because businesses have a better sense of the opportunities made possible by technology.

Emerging job roles in US

Software and Applications Developers and Analysts
Data Analysts and Scientists
Managing Directors and Chief Executives
General and Operations Managers
Sales and Marketing Professionals
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing,
Technical and Scientific Products
Human Resources Specialists
Financial Analysts
Financial and Investment Advisers
Database and Network Professionals

Emerging skills in US

Analytical thinking and innovation
Creativity, originality and initiative
Active learning and learning strategies
Technology design and programming
Complex problem-solving
Critical thinking and analysis
Leadership and social influence
Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation
Emotional intelligence
Systems analysis and evaluation

Source: World Economic Forum

The WEF said challenges for employers include enabling remote work, building safety nets to protect workers, and providing reskilling for employees. However, the report found that only one in three respondents planned to reskill at-risk workers.

Despite net positive job growth, the WEF anticipates a “significant shift in the quality, location, format and permanency of new roles. Businesses are to expand use of contractors for task-specialized work, engage workers in more flexible arrangements, utilize remote staffing, and change up locations to get access to the right talent.

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The report said nearly half of all companies expect their full-time workforces to shrink by 2022, while nearly two in five expect to extend their workforce generally, and over one-quarter expect automation to create new roles in their enterprises.

Germany’s powerful DGB trade union association warned against too rapid change in the world of work.

“People, whether they’re workers or consumers, will only accept and tolerate the consequences if technology serves them — and not they it,” Reiner Hoffmann told daily Welt in reaction to the WEF report.