Over 5 million jobs will be replaced by robots by 2020: WEF report

A robot could soon be taking your job, according to a new report that was released on Monday by the World Economic Forum (WEF), which is holding its annual meeting at the Swiss ski resort of Davos this week.

The report says that the rise of robots and artificial intelligence will result in a net loss of 5.1 million jobs over the next five years in 15 countries.

The "Future of Jobs" report assumes a total loss of 7.1 million jobs, offset by a gain of 2 million new positions, reports Reuters.

But not everyone will be impacted equally.

Two-thirds of the projected losses are expected to fall in the office and administrative sectors, as smart machines take over more routine tasks. In terms of the most affected industries, the WEF report said that healthcare, due to the rise of telemedicine, energy and financial services sectors will be the worst hit.

However, there is a silver lining in all of this. The report predicts that there will be a growing demand for certain skilled workers, including those in computing, data analytics and people who are specialist sales representatives.

The findings are based on a survey of over 300 global companies that employ more than 13 million people in 15 major developed and emerging economies, including Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US.

WEF has made "the fourth industrial revolution" – a topic covering robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and biotechnology - the official theme of this year's Davos meeting, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday.

(Adapted from Reuters; Inputs from Business Insider)


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