What will jobs look like in the future?
Updated 22:24, 01-May-2019
Global Business
["china"]
05:08
Digitalization, globalization and demographic changes are having a profound impact on jobs and working styles.
A fresh report from Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that new technologies are bringing previously under-represented groups into the labor market.
E-sports sector is a good example. E-sports in China are expanding at a meteoric rate, with 60 percent growth in the past two years. An e-sports gamer position is included on the list of 13 new professions released by the Chinese government in April, with an expectation that this emerging sector will be worth of 100-billion-yuan (almost 15 billion U.S. dollars) in the country this year.
"These new jobs, such as e-sports, were considered by elder generations that have negative impact on growth of youngsters. But now they have become more and more accepted as kinds of serious businesses. And these new jobs change the lifestyles of young people," said Li Yong, a current affairs commentator.
And changes associated with new technologies are reshaping the global employment landscape. The report addressed that some tasks are being done by robots or outsourced, while various new jobs are being created.
Forty percent of jobs created between 2005 and 2016 are in digitally intensive sectors, the report said. Meanwhile, about 14 percent of jobs in OECD countries are highly automatable, and another 32 percent will be radically transformed by technological progress.
The report cited that many issues remain unresolved. For example, many workers do not have the right skills for new jobs. And training participation by low-skilled adults is only 20 percent among OECD nations, compared with 60 percent by high-skilled workers.
The report also pointed out that non-standard workers, such as those self-employed or on a temporary contract, are 40 to 50 percent less likely to receive any form of income support during an out-of-work period than standard employees. In addition, populations in some OECD nations are aging fast, despite a rising overall employment rate.
OECD suggests the right policies need to be put into place, in order to tackle these issues. The report listed some guidelines to help the government make the most of the opportunities lying ahead. They include providing workers with education and training leave; reducing training costs by providing financial incentives for the most vulnerable groups in the labor market; and tackling gaps in income support.