Next five years will see 14 million jobs disappear worldwide - report

The global job market will be significantly disrupted over the next five years as the economy weakens and companies adopt new technologies such as artificial intelligence, concludes the World Economic Forum (WEF), based on surveys of more than 800 companies.

Hosting an annual gathering of world leaders in Davos, Switzerland, the WEF said employers are expected to create 69 million new jobs by 2027 and cut 83 million jobs. This will result in a net loss of 14 million jobs.

Many factors will drive the evolution of the labor market during this period. The shift to renewable energy systems will be a powerful driver of job creation, while slowing economic growth and high inflation will lead to losses.

Meanwhile, the race to deploy artificial intelligence will be both positive and negative. Companies will need new employees to help implement and manage artificial intelligence tools. 

For example, employment of data analysts and scientists, machine learning specialists and cybersecurity experts is expected to increase by an average of 30 percent by 2027, according to the WEF. Companies are rethinking the skills their employees need. Companies now value "the ability to use AI tools effectively" more than computer programming

The proliferation of artificial intelligence will put many jobs at risk, with robots replacing humans in some cases. According to the World Economic Forum, there could be 26 million fewer administrative and record-keeping jobs by 2027. Data entry clerks and executive secretaries are expected to see the largest losses.

Despite the recent popularity of tools such as ChatGPT, automation grew slowly this decade. Organizations surveyed by the WEF estimate that 34 percent of all business-related tasks are currently performed by machines. This figure is only slightly higher than the 2020 figure.