Which sectors in Europe are most threatened by automation?

Automation, big data and economic pressures might lead to the termination of 83 million jobs globally in the next three years.

That’s according to research conducted by the World Economic Forum on over 800 companies and 673 million employees around the world.

AI is expected to be a key driving force behind this change and one of the fastest-growing sectors, along with sustainability specialists and business intelligence analysts.

The research also says up to 69 million new jobs might be created by 2027.

Europe’s productivity getting even more centralised?

The Future of Work in Europe study by consultancy firm McKinsey forecasts that 94 million European workers will need retraining by 2030 due to advances in automation.

McKinsey has also identified the sectors with the highest percentage of jobs potentially displaced by automation, in Europe: accommodation and food services (94%), arts (80%), wholesale and retail (68%), construction (58%) and transport and storage (50%).

“While some workers in declining occupations may be able to find similar types of work, 21 million may need to change occupations by 2030,” the study says, suggesting most of these people lack tertiary education.

However, according to World Economic Forum research, the coming years should also bring substantial job growth on other fronts, with around 69 million new positions.

In Europe, these jobs are likely to be unequally distributed.

Up to 40% of European workers could find themselves living in regions with shrinking labour markets, notes McKinsey.

The report suggests that remote work should be encouraged “through incentives for companies and the build-out of digital infrastructure” to keep those regions afloat.

Europe’s productivity is currently highly concentrated in a few job markets, such as Amsterdam, Copenhagen, London, Madrid, Munich and Paris.

These cities only are home to 20% of Europe’s population, but they accounted for 43% of Europe’s GDP growth, 35% of its net job growth, and 40% of its population growth between 2007 and 2018, according to the report.

On the other hand, there are 438 shrinking regions, accounting for 30% of the population, in eastern and southern Europe, with “declining workforces, older populations, and lower educational attainment.”