The Impact of Technology on Employment: The Future of Job

A labor market is a place where employees and workers interact with each other. In the labor market, employers compete to hire thebest and the workers compete for finding the best suitable job. In an economy functions, a labor market is all about Demand and supply. As technology change and develop, the function of the labor market has changed as well. However, the demand and supply of labor are still increasing constantly. The impact of technology on employment is a multifaceted topic of thie essay that explores both the positive advancements and potential challenges that technological innovations bring to the job market in the modern era.

Transformation of Labor in the Technological Era

According to the development of technology, automation, and digital platform, those change the fundamental nature of labor. Therefore, the labor separates into two different sections, one is high-skilled workers and low-skilled workers. The demand for low-skilled workers, such as cleaners, nurses, primary school teacher etc; which is decreasing rapidly and the trend for this kind of jobs will keep decreasing. The reason for this is those work need low skill and it's repetitive, which the payment is low as well. As technology developed, those jobs can easily be replaced by Robert and machines. As we can see in the daily life, in supermarkets there are automatic machines can self-checkout, which make people life easier, no needed to wait for the cashiers to check out, you can do it by yourself. More and more fast food restaurants are using a self-order system, for instance, McDonald, you can order food on the screen. Therefore, the demand for that low-skilled job decreases. The demand for high-skilled work such as engineers, designers, scientists etc; are increase and the demand for this kind of jobs will grow in the future. However, the supply of low-skilled workers is massive, it’s related to education and training. Firm training individual worker in order to develop the ability in the short term, but education is more about long term effect. For example, manufacturing industries are facing high rates of technology change, thereby worker usually received company training in order to catch up specific requirements of innovation. In general, more educated workers receive more training, either because human capital is input in the production of new human capital or because individuals who are better 'learners' invest more in both schooling and training. Training is a good way to develop worker skill and most companies are investing and doing it. However, as technological change in long term strategy, education is important resources, more and more job been replaced, the school should notice that the job cannot be replaced is the work need independent, critical thinking and creativity, make decisions by emotional not like Robert follow the instructions and codes. Therefore, a school should focus on both knowledge learning and particle process. It benefits on long-term effects, people who are creative is more likely to adapt to society after graduating from the University and find a suitable job.

Trends and Causes of Technological Unemployment

Moreover, the unemployment rate increases due to technology. There are three main types of unemployment, which is structural, frictional, and cyclical. The first two make up the natural unemployment rate. The third rises when demand falls, usually during a recession. Technological unemployment as part of structural unemployment, when some worker loses their job caused by technology development. In the majority of the industry, unskilled jobs have been removed by technology expansion. There are several impacts of technology on unemployment. First of all, the pace of technology change, it's hard for workers to develop their skill in the short period of time in order to catch up with technological innovation, for this reason, there will be large amounts of worker becomes unemployed. This is a trend as technology grows. Secondly, the machines and Robert are efficient and quick, people usually driven by emotional and make the decision rationally therefore sometimes will cause mistakes and error, however, the machine won’t do it. This has a huge impact on unskilled workers. Although technology has effected on employment, there has some positive impact as well. The important thing is that change in technology does not increase the overall unemployment rate. For instance, some workers are temporarily losing their jobs; the technology is not just replaced jobs, it does increase new skilled jobs for people. Once used telephone and fax are now replacing tablet and laptops for communication purpose in the workplace, it makes easier communication. Also, technology makes firms more productive, highly productive companies offer more job and pay better. When we draw a relation between technology vs unemployment. Technology has generated various new work profile in software, IT and Al field for experts. 

Economic Circular Flow and Income Generation

In economic circular flow, income and spending show connection. Businesses produce goods and services and in the process of doing so, incomes are generated for factors of production, for example, wages and salaries going to people in work. This simply means that workers get income from the company and use the income to purchase goods and services, the firm is a demand for it. Labour as a consumer, they need income to buy life necessity such as house, food, and clothes. Those jobs with both low-skill and paid, governments have set minimum wage on it. The National minimum wage rate is currently £7.83 for workers over 25. The minimum wage was introduced in April 1999 (at £3.60) and is the legal minimum that employers can pay. The aim of the National Minimum Wage is to help increase incomes of the low paid. It has become more important in a labor market characterized by a decline in trade unions and the growth of low-paid service sector jobs. Minimum wage also encourages people to enter the labor market and accept a job. The drawback of minimum wages is an effect on increase unemployment, Milton Friedman a free market economist was critical of minimum wages. In 1966, he wrote a critique of the minimum wage “Congress has just acted to increase unemployment. It did so by raising the legal minimum wage rate from $1.25 to $1.60 an hour, effective in 1968, and extending its coverage. The result will be and must be to add to the ranks of the unemployed.”

It has limited impact on the real-life situation, the minimum wage rates still too low and do not cover a living wage in certain areas and places, such as in London, Shanghai which city has high housing price, living cost etc. As more and more work replaced by machines, people lose their job without income, it will cause consumption decrease and have an impact on country economic growth. For this reason, most people are planning or changing their ways to move to the creative industries. The creative industries refer to a range of economic activities which are concerned with the generation or exploitation of knowledge and information. The creative industry provides lots of jobs for people, such as advertising and marketing, architecture, design and so on. Those kinds of jobs are required highly skilled and with hard-skilled, people usually are creative and have independent, critical thinking. It not about doing repetitive works, it more do with imagination. The job cannot easily be replaced is those job need high-skilled work, need human thought and emotions. In addition, this kind of jobs are provided high income, the research shows the industry with the highest salary for creative designer jobs is media, new media, creative. The average Media, new media, creative salary for creative salary for creative designer jobs us £32,500.

By moving towards the creative industry, education is important. Many industry professionals have suggested the government’s focus on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering, and maths) is to blame, which is in line with the government’s dismissal of a petition to make the arts part of the English Baccalaureate in 2016. After all, reducing the focus of creative subjects in schools makes it much less likely that students will go on to study creative subjects at university. China as a good example of it, the population is huge in China, therefore, the government uses examination-oriented education. This kind of education cause problem to students, most of them lack of creative and group working skill, after graduated the competitive of finding jobs. If one day, Robert and machine can take over most of the works, people don’t need to find a job, because the job for people doing is declining. People without job and income refer to less consumption and company. Is governments will intervene in the market? Release the money to lead people to spend or not?

Conclusion

In conclusion, there will be many new jobs created and provided in the future. People employed in different sectors of a variety of industries. The trend of the future is less about jobs, more about project and assignment. As technological developments are going fast, technical skill is likely to be in high demand for some time to come.

Reference List

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