The WEF found that employers expect to create 69 million new jobs by 2027 and eliminate 83 million positions. File picture: Pexels
HUGE disruptions will rock the global job market over the next five years as the economy weakens and companies boost adoption of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), a new report has revealed.
That finding comes from the World Economic Forum, which published a report based on surveys of more than 800 companies, reports CNN.
WEF – which hosts a gathering of global leaders in Davos, Switzerland, every year – found that employers expect to create 69 million new jobs by 2027 and eliminate 83 million positions.
That will result in a net loss of 14 million jobs, equivalent to 2% of current employment, CNN reported.
Many factors will feed labour market churn during that period. The shift to renewable energy systems will be a powerful engine for generating jobs, while slower economic growth and high inflation will drive losses.
The rush to deploy artificial intelligence, meanwhile, will serve as both a positive and a negative force.
Companies will need new workers to help them implement and manage AI tools.
Employment of data analysts and scientists, machine learning specialists and cybersecurity experts is forecast to grow 30% on average by 2027, according to WEF.
At the same time, the proliferation of artificial intelligence will put many roles at risk, as robots replace humans in some cases.
There could be 26 million fewer record-keeping and administrative jobs by 2027, WEF predicted.
Data entry clerks and executive secretaries are expected to see the steepest losses, CNN reported.
Despite the recent sensation surrounding tools like ChatGPT, automation has expanded slowly in the early part of this decade.
Organisations polled by WEF estimated that 34% of all business-related tasks are currently performed by machines. That's just a hair above the figure from 2020.
IANS