By the numbers
According to the projections, area counties could facing the following percentages of job losses because of automation:
Brown County: 23.9%
Greene County: 27%
Lawrence County: 30.3%
Monroe County: 23.8%
Morgan County: 30%
Orange County: 27.7%
Owen County: 30.2%
In Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics job report, the national unemployment rate stayed unchanged at 3.7%. While that may bring a feeling of job stability for the time being, local jobs are at high risk for being replaced by automation in the near future.
According to a detailed projection of job loss across the nation by the Brookings Institution, Indiana is the state with the highest risk of job loss. The projection indicates that Indiana has the potential of losing nearly half of all jobs to automation and artificial intelligence. The states highest on the list are primarily located in the Midwest, the Plains and the South.
Jobs that are most susceptible to being replaced by automation or artificial intelligence are in production, food service and transportation industries. Specifically laboratory technicians, foundry mold and core makers, food preparation, aircraft cargo handlers and machine feeders in those industries are most likely to not be done by humans in the future, according to the analysis. Jobs that are highly repetitive are most at risk for becoming automated.
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