Is your job “robot-proof”? Find out which Nashville industries are most at-risk for automation
The rise of automation and artificial intelligence has many people worried about the possibility of losing their job to a robot.
Research shows that, right now, only a small percentage of jobs are fully automatable or completely robot-proof. However, as artificial intelligence progresses, chances are that some part of your job will be affected by automation.
First, let’s take a look at the job aspects that are most susceptible to automation based on the feasibility of current technology, according to research by McKinsey.
The job aspects most susceptible to automation are:
- Physical work in predictable environments,
- Data processing, and
- Data collection.
Job aspects less susceptible to automation are:
- Physical work in unpredictable environments,
- Stakeholder interactions,
- Applying expertise, and
- Managing others.
According to this research, about 51% of time spent in all US occupations falls under the activities that are highly susceptible to automation, at least based on technological feasibility.
So, which industries have the most potential for automation based on current technology?
The top five most automatable sectors are:
- Accommodations and food service: Many of the activities in jobs in this sector rely heavily on predictable physical work.
- Manufacturing: Along with predictable physical work, manufacturing also involves a lot of data collection activities.
- Agriculture: While much of the work done in agriculture is unpredictable physical work, the remainder is highly automatable.
- Transportation and warehousing: Much like manufacturing, transportation and warehousing work relies heavily on predictable physical work and data collection.
- Retail trade: Retail trade activities are split between highly automatable data processing and less-automatable stakeholder interactions with customers.
As automation accelerates, the need for Nashville to prepare our workforce for jobs that will be created in our new AI-influenced economy is increasing. That’s why the Chamber is investing in helping students in MNPS earn job-ready industry certifications and connect adult learners to postsecondary opportunities through Middle Tennessee Reconnect. See our talent development initiatives here.
On the other side of the coin, the top five least automatable sectors are:
- Educational services: Unsurprisingly, teachers are not going to be replaced by robots anytime soon since most of their work requires managing others and applying expertise.
- Management: Managing and interacting with others, along with applying expertise, are the majority of activities in this sector.
- Professional: Including scientific and technical services, the data collection and data processing aspects of jobs in this sector are outweighed by a need to apply expertise and interact with stakeholders.
- Information: This sector includes publishing, media production, information processing and broadcasting. Because this sector is so varied, the job activities are hard to automate.
- Healthcare and social assistance: While many jobs include activities like predictable physical work and data collection, those activities are filtered through the need to also apply expertise and interact well with patients.
It’s good news for Nashville that healthcare is one of the least automatable sectors of the economy. Investment in health tech and other subsectors of the healthcare industry seem to be a good bet for our region.
To hear more about robot-proof jobs and which jobs are most at-risk, listen to the Marketplace podcast here.
No matter which industry you work in, your job will probably be affected by automation in some way in the coming years. Until then, we will continue to invest in creating a workforce that is ready to meet the needs of the future economy.