The robots are coming — and they may take 15 million British jobs, says the Bank of England’s chief economist.
Andy Haldane told the Trade Union Congress yesterday that millions of jobs could be at risk of automation, with those most vulnerable working in the administrative, clerical and production sectors and among the low paid.
The Bank’s calculations on automation showed that 15 million jobs could be at risk, representing nearly half the present workforce. In the United States, the corresponding figure would be about 80 million jobs.
Mr Haldane argued that the more machines improved, “the greater the likelihood that the space remaining for uniquely human skills could shrink further”. The shift would manifest itself in weaker-than-expected wage growth and a “secular fall” in