It is forecast that over the next five years, 22% of today’s jobs will be fundamentally transformed, disappear or be recreated as a result of the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI).
Based on a survey of more than 1,000 leading employers worldwide, the report offers a cautiously optimistic assessment. It projects the creation of 170 million new jobs alongside the elimination of 92 million, resulting in a net increase of 78 million jobs globally. However, the path to this outcome will be highly volatile and will require very rapid adaptation, something not everyone will be able to achieve.
The jobs most vulnerable to replacement are repetitive roles such as postal workers, bank tellers, data-entry clerks, cashiers, administrative managers and accountants. Public transport inspectors, sales staff, graphic designers, appraisers, legal assistants, sanitation workers, chemical engineers, security personnel, human resources specialists, and bus and lorry drivers are also considered to face a high level of risk.
The fastest-growing occupations are largely concentrated in technology-driven fields, particularly big data specialists, fintech engineers, AI experts, software and application developers, as well as automation and autonomous vehicle specialists.
Demand is also expected to rise for interactive content and user interface designers for online platforms, environmental and climate engineers, workers in the renewable energy sector, and a wide range of non-technical roles such as e-commerce specialists, strategic consultants, hospitality managers, social service workers and nurses.
Amid the rapid expansion of e-commerce, which is outpacing the advancement of machinery, delivery workers remain indispensable. Autonomous technologies are not yet able to replace humans in handling complex situations in densely populated urban environments, such as finding parking spaces, navigating high-rise buildings or dealing with vague delivery instructions.
Notably, employers estimate that nearly 40% of workers’ core skills will change over the next five years. Topping the list is analytical thinking. Despite advances in AI, employers continue to value the human ability to understand context, ask the right questions as data volumes grow, weigh trade-offs, and make ethical or strategic judgements.
Ranked second are adaptability, flexibility and resilience, qualities that have become essential in a world shaped by pandemics, economic shocks and rapid technological change.
Third is leadership and social influence. Creative thinking ranks fourth, followed by motivation and self-awareness in fifth place. Technological literacy comes sixth, followed by empathy and active listening, talent management and service orientation.
The skills projected to decline most sharply are basic physical abilities such as manual dexterity and lifting, as well as simple cognitive tasks like basic arithmetic and data entry, areas in which algorithms and robots have already surpassed humans in both cost and efficiency.
The global workforce and employment challenge is facing major pressures driven by AI. However, the solution does not lie in rejecting AI, but in strategic adaptation from three sides. At the individual level, rather than learning to work like machines, workers need to develop skills that AI cannot replicate, such as emotional intelligence, critical thinking, ethical decision-making and the ability to work alongside AI.
From the business perspective, recruitment processes need to be restructured by shifting from replacement to support, building hybrid human-AI models, using AI to free employees from monotonous tasks so they can focus on creativity, while reskilling existing staff to adopt new technologies instead of resorting to mass redundancies.
From the government side, it is essential to enact AI legislation to establish a legal framework that controls ethical risks and protects workers’ rights, alongside social security policies that provide subsidies or retraining programmes for groups directly affected by the wave of automation.
