According to a recent study, nearly 69% of jobs in India are at risk from automation even as the country plans to add 160 million more workers over the next 20 years, IANS reported.
63 million jobs are anticipated to be lost to automation by 2040 with more than 247 million jobs anticipated to be at risk across areas that are more vulnerable to automation, such as construction and agriculture, according to Forrester’s ‘Future Of Jobs Forecast’.
According to Michael O’Grady, principal forecast analyst at Forrester, “India’s workforce is young, with an average age of 38, and its working population will rise by 160 million over the next 20 years.”
Job creation should be the top goal for India, which is expected to have 1.1 billion working-age citizens by 2040, in order to accommodate new people entering the labour force, he said.
APAC Countries At Greater Risk
Physical robot automation poses a greater threat to the working populations of the five main economies in Asia-Pacific—India, China, South Korea, Australia, and Japan—than it does to those in Europe and North America.
“To prepare for the changes brought on by automation, the five largest economies in APAC will have to radically rethink their workforce strategies,” said O’Grady.
“While every economy has its own problems, common goals like increasing the number of women in the workforce might help counteract a fall in the working population. Additionally, it will be crucial to invest in STEM education, train the tech workforce, and safeguard the rights of independent contractors,” he observed.
By 2040, 28.5 million new employment in professional services, smart cities and infrastructure, green buildings, renewable energy, and South Korea, Australia, and Japan will be created.
However, 13.7 million jobs in the region will be lost to automation in the wholesale, retail, transportation, lodging, and leisure sectors, despite the fact that new opportunities will be created in sectors like the green economy and information and communications technology (ICT) industries.
