AI Might Not Bring On A Job Crisis, But A Workforce ‘Mismatch’ Could |
When thinking about the future of work, the big question that seems to be at the top of everyone’s mind these days: How will artificial intelligence impact jobs, and specifically my job?
A new report from Indeed Hiring Lab suggests that the labor market threat is way more complicated than AI disrupting industries and causing massive job loss across the board. The real crisis, the Indeed analysis suggests, could develop from a mismatch between the jobs that are growing and the skills and location of the available workers. The problem, according to the data, is being driven by the convergence of three big trends: the retirement of the baby boomers, slower immigration, and AI reshaping white-collar work.
“There's basically two forces colliding at once,” says Indeed Hiring Lab economist Laura Ullrich. “One being AI technology shifts and the other being the massive demographic shift that we all have heard about for many years.” If these factors are left unaddressed, Indeed is projecting that unemployment could almost double to nearly 8% by 2040.
Here’s what Indeed experts say employers and workers can do now to prepare, and hopefully avert, this crisis.
What Employers Can Do
Reevaluate job requirements and credential expectations
Priya Rathod, workplace expert at Indeed, says her biggest advice to employers is to not wait to think about future workforce planning. To start, she says leaders need to re-examine the language they use in job descriptions to see if it’s helping or hurting their odds of getting the best talent to apply.
“Are the credentials you're requiring right now actually necessary or are they just how the role has always been written........