Prepare For Increased Automation In The Economy

By Nsunjo Erica

What the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted at almost 80 percent are the economies, disruptions in production, manufacturing, supply, and consumer chains have been the order of the day, businesses closed.

Business owners were forced to shut down Factories and warehouses as a measure to combat the spread of COVID-19 to protect their workers, business has been affected by the increased lack of manpower therefore there could be a more automated workforce.

The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) reported the cost of robots has decreased and continues to decrease enabling wide adoption, South Korea has seven robots per 100 workers and every third robot installed is in China.

More countries are now expected to adopt more usage of robots than the human workforce because typically, no one is sure of when the pandemic is to end and when people can officially return to their workplaces and work like the previous normal.

Economic analysts warn that almost half of all jobs worldwide could be automated by computers within two decades and “no government is prepared” for the tsunami of social change that will follow, during the post-COVID-19 period.

In 2017, The McKinsey Global Institute cautioned that as many as 375 million workers will need to switch occupational categories by 2030 due to automation, with the outbreak of the pandemic the numbers are expected to rise.

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, estimates on the specific impact of automation will have on jobs varied drastically: McKinsey projected up to 30% of jobs in the US will be automated by 2030,

Automation is very impactful to the economy, the negative impact my outweigh the positive, automation will lift productivity and economic growth, but millions of people worldwide may need to switch occupations or upgrade skills

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The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimated the emerging professions resulting from automation could account for 6.1 million jobs globally between 2020 to 2022, the global pandemic will impact jobs in the long term.

The pandemic has affected many sectors of the economy but manual sectors like agriculture have felt the heat. After suffering severe labor shortages due to COVID-19, advanced-economy farmers will probably attempt to mitigate the risks stemming from dependence on foreign seasonal workers by automating more of their operations.

Previously, an analytical survey by the World Economic Forum showed that unemployment is seen as the biggest worry over the next 10 years for business executives around the world following the destructions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The employment disruptions caused by the pandemic, rising automation and the transition to greener economies are fundamentally changing labor markets,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Unemployment rates have rocketed due to lockdowns and other restrictions to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, with fears of worse to come in countries that have furloughed workers.

READ: 65% of Kenya’s Workforce Already Earning Less Due To Covid-19