DAVOS, Switzerland—Here’s one more thing for credit unions to worry about on their members’ behalf, especially as it affects the make-up of the workforce that may comprise a CU’s FOM, as well as the make-up of their own workforces.
A new forecast says that more than five-million jobs will be lost by 2020 as a result of developments in genetics, artificial intelligence, robotics and other technological change, according to World Economic Forum research.
About seven-million jobs will be lost and two-million gained as a result of technological change in 15 major developed and emerging economies, WEF founder Klaus Schwab and managing board member Richard Samans said in "The Future of Jobs." The findings are taken from a survey of 15 economies covering about 1.9 billion workers, or about 65% of the world’s total workforce.
"To prevent a worst-case scenario—technological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality—reskilling and upskilling of today’s workers will be critical," the authors said. "It is simply not possible to weather the current technological revolution by waiting for the next generation’s workforce to become better prepared."
Administrative and office jobs will account for two-thirds of the losses, with "routine white-collar office functions at risk of being decimated," and there will be gains in computer, mathematical, architecture and engineering-related fields. Women will be disproportionately hit by the changes because of their low participation in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, the study suggests.