Special series by Terere Cómplice “The future of work and the jobs of the future”
By Claudia Pompa.
The economic crisis resulting from the COVID pandemic has dramatically accelerated the processes of workplace automation. In this context, automation means the application of technology, computer programs, robotics or other processes to achieve results with minimal human input. Although technological change is likely to both create and destroy jobs, recent studies have shown that in certain economies automation could increase unemployment even as the total number of job openings in the economy remains the same. This is due to the existing mismatches between the skills of unemployed workers and the skills required to fill vacant positions. For example, an unemployed driver is unlikely to qualify for open data analyst positions, illustrating the paradoxical situation that unemployment increases even as job vacancies remain open.