Report: 25 Percent of Jobs Will Change in the Next Five Years

A new study has found that about 25 percent of jobs are going to change in the next five years. The finding comes from a survey of employers published Monday by the World Economic Forum¹ (WEF). The organization is best known for its yearly meeting in Davos, Switzerland.

About 69 million jobs will be created and 83 million removed by 2027, it said. That will result in a total decrease of 2 percent of current employment, the Future of Jobs report said.

The survey is based on data from about 800 companies employing more than 11 million workers. It used data from 673 million jobs.

Technology and digitalization can lead to both the creation of jobs and the destruction of jobs, a summary of the report said.

Companies are looking to increase their use of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing² and big data, the study found. More than 75 percent of companies say they will be using those technologies in the next five years. About 86 percent of companies surveyed said they want to use more digital platforms and mobile apps.

Machines already do a large amount of work. The companies surveyed estimated that 34 percent of tasks are done by machines, with 66 percent of tasks competed by humans. AI is expected to be used by 75 percent of surveyed companies in the coming years.

As a result, the fastest growing jobs are related to technology.

The fastest declining jobs will be those that can be automated³, like secretaries and bank tellers⁵. The demand for AI machine learning specialists and cybersecurity experts is expected to grow greatly, the report said.

Words in This Story

survey — n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something

platform – n. a program or set of programs that controls the way a computer works and runs other programs

decline – v. to become lower in amount or less in number

secretary — n. a person whose job is to handle records, letters, etc., for another person in an office

teller⁴ — n. a person who works in a bank and whose job is to receive money from customers and pay out money to customers

1 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

2 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

3 automated   

a.自动化的

参考例句：

• The entire manufacturing process has been automated. 整个生产过程已自动化。
• Automated Highway System (AHS) is recently regarded as one subsystem of Intelligent Transport System (ITS). 近年来自动公路系统(Automated Highway System,AHS)，作为智能运输系统的子系统之一越来越受到重视。

4 teller   

n.银行出纳员；(选举)计票员

参考例句：

• The bank started her as a teller.银行起用她当出纳员。
• The teller tried to remain aloof and calm.出纳员力图保持冷漠和镇静。

5 tellers   

n.（银行）出纳员( teller的名词复数 )；（投票时的）计票员；讲故事等的人；讲述者

参考例句：

• The tellers were calculating the votes. 计票员正在统计票数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The use of automatic tellers is particularly used in large cities. 在大城市里，还特别投入了自动出纳机。 来自辞典例句