Three-quarters (74%) of roles in the transport and storage sector have a high chance of being automated in the next two decades, according to research from Deloitte.
In wholesale and retail, 59% of roles are threatened by automation, and in the human health and social work sector 28% of employees could be replaced by robots or computers.
However, the human health and social work sector also has the largest number of jobs with a low likelihood of automation, with 2,249,000 positions (46% of the workforce) in the low chance category. This is followed by professional, scientific and technical roles, with 2,215,000 jobs at low risk (58%), and education with 1,927,000 jobs (66%).
The analysis found that the impact of automation is already being felt in industries where a high proportion of jobs are very likely to be automated. The sectors with the largest loss of jobs between 2001 and 2015 were manufacturing, where 720,000 jobs were lost, 90% of which had a high chance of automation, and wholesale and retail, with an overall loss of 338,000 jobs, 71% of which had a high chance of automation.
This survey builds on previous research from Deloitte that found jobs paying less than £30,000 per year are more than five times more likely to be replaced by automation than those paying over £100,000.
However, while 800,000 jobs at high risk of automation have been lost since 2001, a total of 3.5 million low risk jobs have been created in the same time period, another Deloitte report found.
Angus Knowles-Cutler, vice chairman of Deloitte, said that advances in technology mean an ever greater number of tasks in the workplace can be automated. “Computers and robots are replacing human labour where it is easier and cheaper for them to be used,” he said. “Our study looks at what technology is likely to be capable of, rather than the ease or relative cost of automation. As the cost of technology reduces or the price of human labour increases the pace of automation of jobs is likely to accelerate.
“What will be key is for business, public sector, government and educators to understand fully both the threats and opportunities presented by technology,” he added. “There is a real need to work together to ensure that both young people, and the current UK workforce, are equipped with the education and skills needed in a new world of work.”
