By Andrea Barbara Schuessler
The risk of job loss through automation differs widely within and between member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to the report ‘‘Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2018: Preparing for the Future of Work’’ released Sept. 18.
‘‘Technological innovation such as automation can drive productivity growth, generate new jobs, and contribute to better living standards,’’ OECD Secretary- General Angel Gurria said Sept. 18, ‘‘but we must guard against any increase in regional divides in job quality and employment.’’
‘‘Our focus should be on improving skills and firm efficiency across all regions,’’ Gurria added.
Urban Jobs Safer Approximately 14 percent of jobs in OECD member countries are at risk due to automation, and another 32 percent are likely to experience significant changes, according to the report. The risk of job automation is especially high in the Slovak Republic, the Czech Republic, and France.
Within individual countries, risk can vary significantly between regions. In Germany, for example, Berlin shows the lowest percentage of jobs at high risk of automation, while the state of Saarland has the highest. In general across the group, ‘‘regions with a lower share of jobs at risk of automation tend to be highly urbanized with highly educated workers and a strong tradeable services sector,’’ the OECD said, and cities and towns continue to attract young educated workers at the expense of rural areas.
‘‘Both central governments and local authorities will need to juggle the need to enable automation to boost productivity with the need to manage the job losses that it could entail, particularly in regions that already have low productivity growth and high unemployment,’’ the OECD said, citing the need for investment in programs to enhance employee skills.
published in Bloomberg Law October 10, 2018