World Economic Forum Says COVID-19 Accelerated Job Changes

• Author: William Asher
• Posted: 2024-01-12

During the Jobs Reset Summit's fourth day on October 23, the World Economic Forum reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the future of job change. New jobs will emerge, and they will require new protections and skills for workers. The global economic recession has worsened existing inequalities in labor markets and reversed many gains in employment since the Great Recession. Emerging technologies are at the forefront of job changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affected Workers

During the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic in March and April, about 495 million jobs were lost around the world. The unemployment rate was at 6.6% globally.The International Labor Organization expects that the unemployment rate could double by the end of 2020. For those who didn't lose their jobs, they may have had their wages cut or hours reduced. Blue-collar workers aren't the only ones who have suffered, but their loses have been staggering. Even white-collar workers have seen their once-guaranteed jobs at risk.

COVID-19 Forces Employers to Make Drastic Changes

According to the Future of Jobs Survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, 50% of employers will hasten the automation of their work. More than 80% plan to expand the digitization of workplace processes. Some of the jobs that were lost during the pandemic won't return. Some of the jobs that do return will require new work methods and skills.

The Rate of Automation Is Rapidly Increasing

In the Future of Jobs Report, labor analysts project that by 2025, the amount of time spent working by machines will equal that of people. About 85 million jobs that are currently performed by people will be displaced by machines. These jobs are mostly in manual and repetitive jobs. They span both blue- and white-collar positions. Some examples of these jobs include factory workers and accountants.

New Types of Jobs Will Emerge from the Changing Economy

Although there has been a lot of disruption to the job market due to COVID-19, the Future of Jobs Report estimates that there will be 97 million new jobs emerging by 2025. Most of these jobs will be focused around technology management and implementation. They include data analysts and scientists, artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists, app and software developers, information security analysts, Internet of Things specialists and robotics engineers. It's worth noting that all of these jobs require at least a bachelor's degree, and many of them will require a graduate degree. Mechanics and machine technicians, data specialists and automation process specialists will also find work, and these jobs require an associate's to bachelor's degree.

Changes in In-demand Skills

As new jobs emerge and replace old ones, employers will be seeking workers with a different set of skills. The jobs of the future will require skills related to problem-solving and working with people. They will also require strong self-management skills, including the ability to tolerate stress and be resilient. Flexibility will also be important. That's because the jobs and world in general are changing so quickly that a person has to be able to adjust their processes and procedures whenever they're told to do so. Some specialized skills that will be needed in the short-term future include digital marketing, product marketing and software development for the product life cycle. Employers may have to make investments teaching new skills to their employees. Community and vocational schools may also fulfill some of these roles. Learning new skills for these emerging jobs could take a few weeks to a few months for a typical employee.

Human Capital Will Still Be Important

More than 66% of the employers surveyed for the Future of Jobs Report stated they think they will get a solid return on investment within one year of training their employees on new skills. For the past five years, workers have stated that they don't actually need to have the skills before starting the job. A lot of employers prefer to retrain employees they already have. About 40% of a typical worker's skills need to be updated in order to meet the demands of the world's changing labor market and jobs. Most of the employers said they are doing all of the retraining on their own. Only 21% of them said that they are getting any type of government funding for employee retraining for the jobs that are changing or the ones that are emerging.