Future of Jobs Report 2025 by World Economic Forum
Future of Jobs Report 2025 by World Economic Forum
Future of Jobs Report 2025 by World Economic Forum
@skilleduplife2 weeks ago
Future of Jobs Report 2025
- -Broadening digital access is expected to be the most transformative trend - both across technology-related trends and overall - with 60% of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030. Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing (86%); robotics and automation (58%); and energy generation, storage and distribution (41%), are also expected to be transformative. These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles, and fueling demand for technology-related skills, including AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity and technological literacy, which are anticipated to be the top three fastestgrowing skills.
- -Increasing cost of living ranks as the secondmost transformative trend overall - and the top trend related to economic conditions - with half of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030, despite an anticipated reduction in global inflation. General economic slowdown, to a lesser extent, also remains top of mind and is expected to transform 42% of businesses. Inflation is predicted to have a mixed outlook for net job creation to 2030, while slower growth is expected to displace 1.6 million jobs globally. These two impacts on job creation are expected to increase the demand for creative thinking and resilience, flexibility, and agility skills.
- -Climate-change mitigation is the third-most transformative trend overall - and the top trend related to the green transition - while climatechange adaptation ranks sixth with 47% and 41% of employers, respectively, expecting these trends to transform their business in the next five years. This is driving demand for roles such as renewable energy engineers, environmental
- -Two demographic shifts are increasingly seen to be transforming global economies and labour markets: aging and declining working age populations, predominantly in higherincome economies, and expanding working age populations, predominantly in lower-income economies. These trends drive an increase in demand for skills in talent management, teaching and mentoring, and motivation and self-awareness. Aging populations drive growth in healthcare jobs such as nursing professionals, while growing working-age populations fuel growth in education-related professions, such as higher education teachers.
- -Geoeconomic fragmentation and geopolitical tensions are expected to drive business model transformation in one-third (34%) of surveyed organizations in the next five years. Over onefifth (23%) of global employers identify increased restrictions on trade and investment, as well as subsidies and industrial policies (21%), as factors shaping their operations. Almost all economies for which respondents expect these trends to be most transformative have significant trade with the United States and/or China. Employers who expect geoeconomic trends to transform their business are also more likely to offshore - and even more likely to re-shore - operations. These trends are driving demand for security related job roles and increasing demand for network and cybersecurity skills. They are also increasing demand for other human-centred skills such as resilience, flexibility and agility skills, and leadership and social influence.
- -Frontline job roles are predicted to see the largest growth in absolute terms of volume and include Farmworkers, Delivery Drivers, Construction Workers, Salespersons, and Food Processing Workers. Care economy jobs, such as Nursing Professionals, Social Work and Counselling Professionals and Personal Care Aides are also expected to grow significantly over the next five years, alongside Education roles such as Tertiary and Secondary Education Teachers.
- -Technology-related roles are the fastestgrowing jobs in percentage terms, including Big Data Specialists, Fintech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists and Software and Application Developers. Green and energy transition roles, including Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists, Environmental Engineers, and Renewable Energy Engineers, also feature within the top fastest-growing roles.
- -Clerical and Secretarial Workers - including Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, and Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries - are expected to see the largest decline in absolute numbers. Similarly, businesses expect the fastest-declining roles to include Postal Service Clerks, Bank Tellers and Data Entry Clerks.
- -Analytical thinking remains the most soughtafter core skill among employers, with seven out of 10 companies considering it as essential in 2025. This is followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, along with leadership and social influence.
- -AI and big data top the list of fastest-growing skills, followed closely by networks and cybersecurity as well as technology literacy. Complementing these technology-related skills, creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, along with curiosity and lifelong learning, are also expected to continue to rise in importance over the 2025-2030 period. Conversely, manual dexterity, endurance and precision stand out with notable net declines in skills demand, with 24% of respondents foreseeing a decrease in their importance.
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Contents
Disclaimer
This document is published by the World Economic Forum as a contribution to a project, insight area or interaction. The findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed herein are a result of a collaborative process facilitated and endorsed by the World Economic Forum but whose results do not necessarily represent the views of the World Economic Forum, nor the entirety of its Members, Partners or other stakeholders.
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Preface
Saadia Zahidi Managing Director World Economic Forum
Over the past decade, the World Economic Forum's bi-annual Future of Jobs Report has followed evolving technological, societal and economic trends to understand occupational disruption and identify opportunities for workers to transition to the jobs of the future.
As we enter 2025, the landscape of work continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Transformational breakthroughs, particularly in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), are reshaping industries and tasks across all sectors. These technological advances, however, are converging with a broader array of challenges, including economic volatility, geoeconomic realignments, environmental challenges and evolving societal expectations. In response, this fifth edition of the Future of Jobs Report expands its focus, offering a comprehensive analysis of the interconnected trends shaping the global labour market.
Central to the report is a unique dataset derived from an extensive survey of global employers. This year's edition captures the perspectives of over 1,000 employers - representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies - providing unparalleled insights into
the emerging jobs landscape for the 2025-2030 period. This report would not be possible without their openness to contributing their views and insights, and we sincerely thank them all. We greatly appreciate, too, the support of our survey partners, which have enhanced the report's geographical coverage.
These perspectives are further enriched by research collaborations and data partnerships with ADP, Coursera, Indeed and LinkedIn, whose innovative data and analysis complement the survey findings.
This publication has been made possible by the dedication and expertise of its project team: Till Leopold, Attilio Di Battista, Ximena Játiva, Shuvasish Sharma, Ricky Li and Sam Grayling, alongside the wider team at the Centre for the New Economy and Society.
The disruptions of recent years have underscored the importance of foresight and collective action. We hope this report will inspire an ambitious, multistakeholder agenda - one that equips workers, businesses, governments, educators and civil society to navigate the complex transitions ahead.
Key findings
Technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty, demographic shifts and the green transition - individually and in combination - are among the major drivers expected to shape and transform the global labour market by 2030. The Future of Jobs Report 2025 brings together the perspective of over 1,000 leading global employers-collectively representing more than 14 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies from around the world-to examine how these macrotrends impact jobs and skills, and the workforce transformation strategies employers plan to embark on in response, across the 2025 to 2030 timeframe.
engineers and electric and autonomous vehicle specialists, all among the 15 fastest-growing jobs. Climate trends are also expected to drive an increased focus on environmental stewardship, which has entered the Future of Jobs Report's list of top 10 fastest growing skills for the first time.
Extrapolating from the predictions shared by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, on current trends over the 2025 to 2030 period job creation and destruction due to structural labour-market transformation will amount to 22% of today's total jobs. This is expected to entail the creation of new jobs equivalent to 14% of today's total employment, amounting to 170 million jobs. However, this growth is expected to be offset by the displacement of the equivalent of 8% (or 92 million) of current jobs, resulting in net growth of 7% of total employment, or 78 million jobs.
On average, workers can expect that two-fifths (39%) of their existing skill sets will be transformed or become outdated over the 2025-2030 period. However, this measure of 'skill instability' has slowed compared to previous editions of the report, from 44% in 2023 and a high point of 57% in 2020 in the wake of the pandemic. This finding could potentially be due to an increasing share of workers (50%) having completed training, reskilling or upskilling measures, compared to 41% in the report's 2023 edition.
While global job numbers are projected to grow by 2030, existing and emerging skills differences between growing and declining roles could exacerbate existing skills gaps. The
most prominent skills differentiating growing from declining jobs are anticipated to comprise resilience, flexibility and agility; resource management and operations; quality control; programming and technological literacy.
Given these evolving skill demands, the scale of workforce upskilling and reskilling expected to be needed remains significant: if the world's workforce was made up of 100 people, 59 would need training by 2030. Of these, employers foresee that 29 could be upskilled in their current roles and 19 could be upskilled and redeployed elsewhere within their organization. However, 11 would be unlikely to receive the reskilling or upkskilling needed, leaving their employment prospects increasingly at risk.
Skill gaps are categorically considered the biggest barrier to business transformation by Future of Jobs Survey respondents, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major barrier over the 20252030 period. Accordingly, 85% of employers surveyed plan to prioritize upskilling their workforce, with 70% of employers expecting to hire staff with new skills, 40% planning to reduce staff as their skills become less relevant, and 50% planning to transition staff from declining to growing roles.
Supporting employee health and well-being is expected to be a top focus for talent attraction, with 64% of employers surveyed identifying it as a key strategy to increase talent availability. Effective reskilling and upskilling initiatives, along with improving talent progression and promotion, are also seen as holding high potential for talent attraction. Funding for - and provision of - reskilling and upskilling are seen as the two most welcomed public policies to boost talent availability.
The Future of Jobs Survey also finds that adoption of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives remains on the rise. The potential for expanding talent availability by tapping into diverse talent pools is highlighted by four times more employers (47%) than two years ago (10%). Diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives have become more prevalent, with 83% of employers reporting such an initiative in place, compared to 67% in 2023. Such initiatives are particularly popular for companies headquartered in North America, with a 96% uptake rate, and for employers with over 50,000 employees (95%).
By 2030, just over half of employers (52%) anticipate allocating a greater share of their revenue to wages, with only 8% expecting this share to decline. Wage strategies are driven primarily by goals of aligning wages with workers' productivity and performance and competing for retaining talent and skills. Finally, half of employers plan to reorient their business in response to AI, two-thirds plan to hire talent with specific AI skills, while 40% anticipate reducing their workforce where AI can automate tasks.
Part I: The Future of Jobs 2025
Introduction: The global labour market landscape in 2025
The year 2025 unfolds amid ongoing transformations in global labour markets. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rising cost of living, geopolitical conflicts, the climate emergency and economic downturns have added further turbulence to technology-driven global employment changes. While the global economic outlook appears to be stabilizing, it does so amid weaker global growth projections of 3.2% for 2025. 1 Global inflation appears to have eased and is now projected to reach 3.5% by the end of 2025 - below the average global rate of the first two decades of the 21 st century. However, living costs remain elevated around the world.
Aided by a stabilizing economic outlook and easing inflation, the global unemployment rate, at 4.9%, 2 stands at the lowest level since 1991. However, this headline figure hides a range of disparities. While middle-income countries are experiencing reductions in unemployment, low-income countries have seen an increase, from 5.1% in 2022 to 5.3% by 2024.
Reductions in unemployment have also lagged for women. Since 2020, when the global unemployment rate peaked for both sexes at 6.6%, the rate for men has declined to 4.8%, while the rate for women remains elevated at 5.2%. This trend is driven mainly by lower-middle income countries, where the female unemployment rate (of 5.5%) is 1.1% higher than the male equivalent. High-income countries have an unemployment rate gender disparity of 0.4%; however, this disparity has existed for over a decade - rather than opening up during the post-COVID recovery. For lowincome and upper-middle income countries, male and female unemployment rates remain even.
Youth unemployment rates tell another story of labour-market health. While the global youth unemployment rate has tracked the total global unemployment rate, it remains elevated at 13%. Assessing rates of youth not in employment education or training (NEETs) highlights disparities between economies at different national income levels. While the global NEET rate remains flat at
21.7%, it stands at just 10.1% for high-income economies, rising to 17.3% for upper-middle income ones. The rate then jumps to 25.9% for lower-middle income economies and 27.6% for low-income ones.
The jobs gap - a measure by the International Labour Organization (ILO) to incorporate a broader understanding of unemployment and underemployment - adds additional nuance to our understanding of the labour-market situation. Similarly to global headline unemployment, the jobs gap has been decreasing and stood at a need for 402 million additional jobs in 2024. While most of the world has experienced this downward trend, low-income economies saw their jobs gap increase by 0.4 percentage points compared to prepandemic levels. Lower-middle income economies saw the largest reduction in the jobs gap (by 2 percentage points compared to 2019 levels). Across all country income groups, the jobs gap for women is higher than that for men, but gender differences are most pronounced in low-income and especially lower-income economies, where the jobs gap for women surpasses that of men by 7.5 percentage points.
The global labour-force participation rate has rebounded after a drop during the pandemic and now stands at similar levels to 2019 for all income groups except lower-middle income economies. In lower-income economies the labour-force participation rate has spiked beyond the levels seen in 2019. This is noteworthy considering lowermiddle income economies - who make up around 40% of the global population - will drive the bulk of working-age population growth in the coming years and decades. The combination of growing workingage populations and labour-force participation rates emphasizes the importance of job creation in these economies.
Against the backdrop of this current labour-market landscape, the Future of Jobs Report 2025 analyses how organizations expect the labour market to evolve over the next five years until 2030. Like previous editions of the report, this analysis is
based on the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Survey, conducted in late 2024, which brings together the perspectives of more than 1,000 global employers, collectively employing more than 14.1 million workers across 22 industry clusters and 55 economies. The survey highlights how macrotrends and technology will influence industry transformation and employment, the jobs and skills outlook over the next five years and the corresponding workforce transformation strategies companies plan to use to address these issues.
The report begins by outlining five macrotrends impacting the labour market - technological change, the green transition, geoeconomic fragmentation, economic uncertainty and demographic shifts. In Chapter 2, the report discusses how organizations expect jobs to evolve, including which jobs are predicted to grow
and decline fastest, and the trends driving these changes. Chapter 3 looks at projected changes to the skills needed in the labour market, before Chapter 4 analyses the workforce practices that employers plan to adopt in their organizations. Finally, Chapter 5 provides insights for the nine regions, 55 economies, and 22 industry clusters that meet the report's statistical thresholds for standalone analysis. The appendix provides a detailed overview of the report's survey and analysis methodology.
In addition, the Future of Jobs Report 2025 features a comprehensive set of Region, Economy and Industry Profiles. User guides are provided for each of these profiles to support their use as practical, standalone tools.
1.1
Drivers of labour-market transformation
Technological developments, the green transition, macroeconomic and geoeconomic shifts, and demographic changes are driving transformation in the global labour market, reshaping both jobs and
required skills. This chapter provides a picture of how companies expect these macrotrends to drive industry transformation by 2030.
Expected impact of macrotrends on business transformation
Macrotrends driving business transformation
Share of employers surveyed that identify the stated trend as likely to drive business transformation.
Broadening digital access Rising cost of living, higher prices or inflation Increased efforts and investments to reduce carbon emissions Increased focus on labour and social issues Slower economic growth Increased efforts and investments to adapt to climate change Ageing and declining working-age populations Increased geopolitical division and conflicts Growing working-age populations Increased restrictions to global trade and investment Increased government subsidies and industrial policy/uni00A0 Stricter anti-trust and competition regulations
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
Technological change
More employers - 60% - expect broadening digital access to transform their business than any other trend, with similar proportions of employers across
0
all regions selecting this trend. This growing digital access is a critical enabler for new technologies to transform labour markets (Figure 1.1).
The Future of Jobs Survey asked employers how advances in nine key technologies are transforming
their business. Of the nine technologies, three stand out as being expected to have the greatest impact. Robots and autonomous systems are expected to transform 58% of employers' businesses, while energy generation and storage technologies are expected to transform 41%. But it is artificial
intelligence (AI) and information processing technologies that are expected to have the biggest impact - with 86% of respondents expecting these technologies to transform their business by 2030 (Figure 1.2).
Technology trends driving business transformation, 2025-2030
Share of employers surveyed that identify the stated technology trend as likely to drive business transformation
AI and information processing technologies Robots and autonomous systems Energy generation, storage and distribution New materials and composites Semiconductors and computing technologies Sensing, laser and optical technologies Quantum and encryption Biotechnology and gene technologies Satellites and space technologies
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
Generative AI (GenAI), in particular, has witnessed a rapid surge in both investment and adoption across various sectors. Since the release of Chat GPT in November 2022, investment flows into AI have increased nearly eightfold. 3 This influx of capital has been accompanied by investment in the physical infrastructure needed to support these emerging technologies, including servers and energy generation plants. By leveraging natural language processing technology, GenAI enables users to interact with it as though they were conversing with a human, considerably reducing barriers to usage and the need for specialized technical knowledge. 4 Accordingly, the demand for GenAI skills by both businesses and individuals has also grown significantly (Box B1.1).
Although more generalized adoption of AI applications remains comparatively low, with only a small fraction of firms using it in 2023, adoption is growing rapidly, albeit unevenly across sectors. The information technology sector is leading the way in AI adoption, while industries such as construction are lagging behind. 5 This disparity mirrors broader trends, with advanced and middleincome economies experiencing unprecedented diffusion of generative AI technologies among individual users, while low-income economies remain largely on the margins, with currently minimal use of this technology. 6
While the full extent of long-term productivity gains from the technology remains uncertain,
workplace studies have identified various initial ways for generative AI to enhance human skills and performance. Some of these studies have highlighted ways for generative AI to enhance human core skills, or to substitute for tacit knowledge among newer or average performing workers. 7,8 Other studies have shown generative AI can enhance knowledge work if applied appropriately within its capability, but risks producing adverse outcomes where users unknowingly stretch it beyond its capability. 9
Looking further ahead, some observers argue generative AI could empower less specialized employees to perform a greater range of 'expert' tasks - expanding the possible functions of roles such as Accounting Clerks, Nurses, and Teaching Assistants. 10 Similarly, the technology could equip skilled professionals such as Electricians, Doctors or Engineers with the world's forefront knowledge - enabling them to solve complex problems more efficiently. 11 Outcomes such as these - which create genuine shifts in the quantity or quality of output - are more likely to come about if technology development is focused on enhancing rather than substituting for human capabilities. 12 However, without appropriate decision-making frameworks, economic incentive structures and, possibly, government regulations, there remains a risk that technological development will be focused on replacing human work, which could increase inequality and unemployment.
Enr olments
BOX 1.1
While currently seen as less transformative than GenAI, robots and autonomous systems have seen steady growth of around 5-7% annually since 2020. 13 In 2023, global average robot density reached 162 units per 10,000 employees, double the number measured seven years ago. 14 Currently robot installations are heavily concentrated, with 80% of installations occurring in China, Japan, United States, the Republic of Korea, and
Germany. 15 This is partially reflected in Future of Jobs Survey data, which shows significant expectations for the transformative impact of these technologies in these five countries (more than 60% of respondents in each); but much lower expectations among employers headquartered in Sub-Saharan Africa (39%), Central Asia (45%) and the Middle East and North Africa (44%).
Demand for generative AI skills
In collaboration with Coursera
Coursera data generated for the Future of Jobs Report 2025 reveals significant growth in demand for Generative AI training among both individual learners and enterprises (Figure B1.1). Demand for AI skills has accelerated globally, with India and the United States leading in enrolment numbers. However, the drivers of demand differ. In the United States demand is primarily driven by individual users, whereas in India, corporate sponsorship plays a significant role in boosting GenAI training uptake.
Globally, individual learners on Coursera have focused on foundational GenAI skills and
Demand for generative AI skills
Generative AI enrolment trend 2022-2024.
Source
Coursera analysis.
conceptual topics, such as prompt engineering, trustworthy AI practices, and strategic decisionmaking around AI. Institution-sponsored learners, on the other hand, emphasize practical applications within the workplace, including leveraging AI tools to enhance efficiency in Excel or leveraging the technology to develop applications. These trends reflect a tailored approach to GenAI learning, where individuals focus on foundational knowledge-building while organizations prioritize training that delivers immediate workplace productivity gains.
Economic uncertainty
As of early 2025, the global economic outlook appears to be shaped by a combination of cautious optimism and persistent uncertainties. According to the World Economic Forum's September 2024 Chief Economists Outlook, 16 while there are signs of improving global conditions, vulnerabilities persist. Most surveyed chief economists (54%) expect economic conditions to hold steady in the short term. However, among those anticipating change, more expect conditions to worsen rather than strengthen.
The 2024 economic performance was marked by a global decrease in inflation and an unusually resilient economy throughout the disinflationary process. While easing inflation and looser monetary policy offer some optimism, slow growth and political volatility keep many countries at risk of economic shocks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects growth to hold steady at 3.2 percent in 2025, despite sizable downward growth revisions in a few economies, particularly low-income developing ones. 17
Despite this comparatively steady outlook, price pressures persist in many economies. Inflation remains particularly high in services - at almost twice pre-pandemic levels - and is especially persistent in low-income countries. Low-income countries are disproportionately affected by rising inflationary pressures because of elevated food prices due to supply disruptions influenced by climate shocks, regional conflicts and geopolitical tensions. 18
Against this backdrop, companies expect economic pressures to be among the most transformative drivers. Figure 1.1 shows rising cost of living remains a top concern, with half of all surveyed employers expecting it to drive transformation, making it the second-most influential trend. Slower economic growth is also a major concern, with 42% of respondents expecting it to impact their operations.
Views on the impact of inflation and economic growth notably vary across regions. For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, six in 10 respondents cite inflation as a key factor, whereas in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia, slower economic growth is seen as the more important issue.
Finally, stricter anti-trust and competition regulations, though a lower priority overall, are expected to impact one in six employers globally
Geoeconomic fragmentation
Intensifying geoeconomic tensions threaten trade and supply chains, with lower-income economies particularly vulnerable, given that essential goods like food and energy comprise a
larger share of household expenditures in these countries. 19 Globally, governments are responding to geoeconomic challenges by imposing trade and investment restrictions, increasing subsidies, and adjusting industrial policies. The World Trade Organization (WTO) reports that trade restrictions doubled between 2020 and 2024, with the value of import restrictions reaching nearly 10% of global imports in 2024. 20 These increasing protectionist measures may pose a medium-term risk to global economic growth, as they reduce opportunities for open innovation and technology transfer factors that historically fuelled growth in emerging economies during periods of globalization. 21
This shift toward geoeconomic fragmentation carries substantial macroeconomic implications, with the IMF estimating potential global output losses from trade fragmentation ranging from 0.2% to 7% of GDP, and losses deepening in scenarios of technological decoupling. 22 Emerging and developing economies are particularly vulnerable to such disruptions. For example, Sub-Saharan Africa could see long-term welfare losses of approximately 4% of GDP due to declining global integration. 23
The Future of Jobs Survey reveals that around onethird (34%) of surveyed employers see heightened geopolitical tensions and conflicts as a key driver of organizational transformation. Meanwhile just over one-fifth of surveyed organizations identify increased restrictions on trade and investment (23%), as well as subsidies and industrial policies (21%), as factors reshaping their operations.
Geoeconomic concerns vary by economy. Employers in Eastern Asia and Northern America identify rising geoeconomic fragmentation as a key driver shaping labour markets, with nearly half of surveyed employers in these regions citing this trend. These regions also show significant concern about restrictions on global trade and investment, though to a lesser extent than in the Middle East and North Africa. Economies with comparatively high trade volumes with the United States, China, or both - such as Singapore (64%) and the Republic of Korea (71%) - tend to expect greater transformation from each of these geoeconomic trends, as shown in Figure 1.3 below.
Geoeconomic trends, by economy
Share of employers surveyed that expect the stated geoeconomic trend to transform their business.
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
On an industry level, as shown in Figure 1.4, sectors with a high degree of dependence on global supply chains, such as Automotive and Aerospace (46%), and Mining and Metals (55%), expect industry transformation driven by trade restrictions. By contrast, industries with less exposure to global markets, such as Education, are less focused on this trend, with fewer than 14% of surveyed employers seeing trade restrictions as disruptive. Mining and Metals, Advanced Manufacturing, and Oil and Gas anticipate industry transformation stemming from increased government subsidies and industrial policies, with, respectively, 31%, 33%, and 40% of employers across these industries citing these factors; whereas more domestic-focused sectors such as Accommodation, Food, and Leisure expect minimal impact from such policies.
The broader implications of geoeconomic fragmentation extend beyond individual business strategies to long-term economic stability and growth, and limit multilateral cooperation on critical issues such as climate change and pandemic preparedness. 24
Share of employers surveyed that expect the stated geoeconomic trend to transform their business.
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
Green transition
Despite an increasingly complex outlook for global climate negotiations, the green transition remains a priority for many organizations globally. Nearly half of surveyed employers (47%) anticipate the ramping up of efforts and investments to reduce carbon emissions as a key driver for organizational transformation. Similarly, 41% expect that increased efforts and investments to adapt to climate change will drive significant organizational changes. These two trends rank 3rd and 6th, respectively, among the drivers of business transformation identified by the Future of Jobs Survey. These priorities have enabled green jobs to demonstrate resilience in recent years, with hiring rates in green sectors remaining relatively stable even throughout the pandemic-related disruptions of 2020. 25
The Future of Jobs Survey finds that the industrial sector - encompassing industries such as Automotive and Aerospace, and Mining and Metals - anticipates significant organizational transformation as companies ramp up efforts to decarbonize: 71% of employers in the Automotive and Aerospace industry and 69% of those in the Mining and Metals industry expect carbon emissions reductions to transform their organizations. Given the carbon-intensive nature of these industries, 26 decarbonization will significantly transform these industries and their workforces, with workers requiring upskilling and reskilling to transition to alternative jobs.
A similar picture emerges across regions. For example, in South-Eastern Asia, 72% of employers expect climate mitigation efforts to transform their
organizations by 2030, while over half expect climate adaptation to do so. By contrast, in Central Asia, only 19% of respondents see climate trends as relevant to their business activities.
As countries seek to meet climate goals, questions arise regarding whether their workforces are equipped with the necessary skills to meet the demands of a net-zero future. The shift toward sustainable practices will require specialized expertise which will incur transition costs, particularly for those working in production occupations such as assemblers and fabricators. 27 Despite a global 12% increase in workers acquiring green skills between 2022 and 2023, demand continues to outpace supply, with the number of job postings requiring at least one green skill rising by nearly 22% over the same period. To fully capitalize on opportunities created by the green transition and harness them in a way that is fair and inclusive, prioritizing green skilling is essential.
Demographic shifts
The world is currently experiencing two fundamental demographic shifts: an aging and declining working-age population predominantly in higherincome economies, due to declining birth rates and longer life expectancy, and a growing working-age population in many lower-income economies, where younger populations are progressively entering the labour market. In higher-income nations, aging populations are increasing dependency ratios, potentially putting greater pressure on a smaller pool of working-age individuals and raising concerns about long-term labour availability. In contrast, lower-income economies may benefit from a demographic dividend.
These demographic shifts have a direct impact on global labour supply: currently balanced between lower-income (49%) and higher-income (51%) working-age populations, this distribution is expected to shift by 2050, with lower-income countries projected to hold 59% of the global working-age population. 29 Geographies with a demographic dividend, such as India and SubSaharan African nations, will supply nearly two-thirds of new workforce entrants in the coming years. 30
Findings from the Future of Jobs Survey indicate that for 40% of employers worldwide, aging and declining working-age populations are driving transformation, while 25% are being transformed by growing working-age populations. Many highincome economies experience the combined effects of both trends. Certain countries, including Australia, Germany and Japan, experience more significant effects from declining working-age populations. While few companies operating in Sub-Saharan African countries expect to see transformation due to aging and declining working age populations, their expectations regarding the impact of growing working-age populations are
also relatively tempered, illustrating relatively greater concern with other macrotrends (Figure 1.5).
Compared to global averages, employers facing the effects of aging population are more pessimistic about talent availability and expect facing bigger challenges in attracting industry talent. More encouragingly, with a shrinking labour pool, many of these companies (60%) increasingly prioritize transitioning current employees into growing roles as a key workforce strategy. Some observers have also predicted that aging high-income economies with shrinking labour forces might increasingly look to deeper automation to counterbalance some of these demographic trends. 31 For example, the Future of Jobs Survey finds that employers expecting to be impacted by aging populations are more likely to accelerate process automation (79% versus 73% globally) and advance workforce augmentation (67% versus 63% globally) in the next five years.
Conversely, many economies' actual ability to leverage demographic dividends will depend on their accompanying success, or otherwise, in inclusive job creation. According to the World Bank, over the next 10 years, an unprecedented 1.2 billion young people in emerging economies will become working-age adults, while the job market in these economies is only expected to create 420 million additional jobs - risking leaving nearly 800 million young people in economic uncertainty. 32 Encouragingly, employers responding to the Future of Jobs Survey that identify growing working-age populations as a driver of transformation plan to prioritize reskilling and upskilling, with 92% indicating they will be focusing on these strategies by 2030.
Share of surveyed employers impacted by growing working-age populations and share of surveyed employers impacted by ageing and declining working-age populations.
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
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Jobs outlook
Technological change, the green transition, economic uncertainty, geoeconomic fragmentation and demographic shifts are reshaping the labour market. This chapter analyses how employers
expect various kinds of jobs to grow and decline in response to these macrotrends and assesses the role of each of these trends in contributing to labour-market transformation.
Total job growth and loss 2.1
By combining respondents' job growth and decline expectations with hard data on global employment collected by the ILO, the Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimates that, by 2030, on current predictions, new job creation and job displacement due to macrotrends will represent a combined total of 22% of today's total (formal) jobs. Specifically, macrotrend-driven creation of new jobs is estimated to amount to 170 million jobs, equivalent to 14% of
today's total employment. This growth is expected to be offset by the displacement of 92 million current jobs, or 8% of total employment, resulting in a net growth of 78 million jobs (7% of today's total employment) by 2030, Figure 2.1 illustrates the total number of jobs expected to be created and displaced due to labour-market transformation relative to total employment today.
Global employment change by 2030
In the next five years, 170 million jobs are projected to be created and 92 million jobs to be displaced, constituting a structural labour market churn of 22% of the 1.2 billion formal jobs in the dataset being studied. This amounts to a net employment increase of 7%, or 78 million jobs.
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024; International Labour Organization, I LOSTAT.
Note
Please refer to the Appendix for the methodology.
Growing and declining jobs
The Future of Jobs Survey gathered insights from employers on job roles expected to grow, decline or remain stable within their organizations over
the next five years. Respondents were then asked to identify the macrotrends and technological advancements driving job growth and decline in their organizations.
According to the surveyed executives, the fastestgrowing job roles by 2030, in percentage terms, tend to be driven by technological developments, such as advancements in AI and robotics and increasing digital access (See section 2.2). Leading
the fastest growing jobs list are roles such as Big Data Specialist, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists and Software and Applications Developers (Figure 2.2).
Fastest-growing and fastest-declining jobs, 2025-2030
Top jobs by fastest net growth and net decline, projected by surveyed employers
Top fastest growing jobs
Net growth (%)
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
While technology trends partly contribute to the growth of security-related roles such as Security Management Specialists, which ranks among the top five fastest-growing roles, increased geopolitical fragmentation contributes in large part to the growth of this role. Driven by the same combination of technology and geoeconomic trends, another security-related role, Information Security Analysts, also appears among the top 15.
Green and energy-transition roles, including Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists, Environmental Engineers, and Renewable Energy Engineers, also feature within the top 15 fastest-growing roles. The growth of these roles is driven by increased efforts and investments to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to climate change. The growing adoption of energy generation, storage and distribution technologies,
alongside other technology trends, are additional contributing factors.
By contrast, respondents expect the fastestdeclining roles to include various clerical roles, such as Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, alongside Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries, Printing Workers, and Accountants and Auditors. Broadening digital access, AI and information processing technologies, and robots and autonomous systems are the primary drivers for this decline. Aging and declining working-age populations and slower economic growth also contribute to the decline in clerical roles.
Jobs created
Jobs displaced
Net growth or decline
Projected job creation (blue) and displacement (purple) between 2025 and 2030, as a percentage of total current employment in the corresponding job role. The projected net growth or decline for each occupation over the next five years (diamonds) is calculated by subtracting total job displacement from total job creation.
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Share of current workforce (%)
Note
1 Drafters, Engineering Technicians, and Mapping Technicians; 2 Farmworkers, Labourers, and Other Agricultural Workers; 3 Water Transportation Workers, including Ship and Marine Cargo Workers, Controllers, and Technicians; 4 Sheet and Structural Metal Workers, Moulders and Welders; 5 Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products; 6 Manufacturing, Mining, Construction, and Distribution Managers; 7 Door-To-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers
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To approximate the total impact of job growth and decline, this report combines the job outlook expectations of surveyed employers with estimates of the total number of workers in the corresponding roles, based on ILO employment data. However, the Future of Jobs data set only provides information on roles for which survey data availability meets a minimum coverage threshold, and corresponds to 1.18 billion workers in total, which is a subset of the ILO's total employment data. The conclusions derived for this subset should not be treated as comprehensive, but rather as providing insights on selected segments of the global workforce.
Farmworkers top the list of the largest growing job roles in the next five years and are expected to see 35 million more jobs by 2030. Green transition trends, including increased efforts and investments to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to climate change, are the driving forces behind this job growth. Broadening digital access and rising cost of living also contribute to the growth of this job role, which currently employs more than 200 million workers worldwide.
Delivery Drivers, Building Construction Workers, Salespersons and Food Processing Workers are also among the largest-growing job types in the next five years. While technology is impacting growth in almost all occupations, demographic trends and economic trends also contribute to the projected net increase in these job roles.
Care jobs, including Nursing Professionals, Social Work and Counselling Professionals, and Personal
Care Aides are expected to see significant growth over the next five years, driven by demographic trends, especially aging populations. Increased focus on labour and social issues is also identified as a contributing factor.
Education-related roles such as University and Higher Education Teachers and Secondary Education Teachers are also predicted to be among the biggest job creators in absolute terms over the next five years globally. Broadening digital access and growing working-age populations are the top two contributing drivers of this job growth, while increased focus on labour and social issues is seen as an additional factor.
Additionally, Software and Applications Developers, General and Operations Managers, and Project Managers, are among the job categories driving the most net job growth.
Conversely, in parallel to the fastest-declining job roles, Clerical and Secretarial Workers are among the job categories predicted to see the largest net job decline in absolute terms (Figure 2.5).
Section 2.2 further analyses the impact of each of the five identified labour-market macrotrends on growing and declining jobs. However, there is also a group of large and growing jobs that are driven by many trends in combination. This includes Building Framers, Finishers, and Related Trades Workers; Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers; Car, Van and Motorcycle Drivers; General and Operations Managers; and Social Work and Counselling Professionals. For these jobs, it is the broad sweep of transformative forces, rather than one or two specific labour-market drivers, which is generating growth expectations.
Top jobs, ordered by largest net job growth and decline, in absolute terms, calculated based on ILO occupation employment statistics and expected net growth reported by employers surveyed.
Top largest growing jobs
Farmworkers, Labourers, and Other Agricultural Workers Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers Software and Applications Developers Building Framers, Finishers, and Related Trades Workers Shop Salespersons Food Processing and Related Trades Workers Car, Van and Motorcycle Drivers Nursing Professionals Food and Beverage Serving Workers General and Operations Managers Social Work and Counselling Professionals Project Managers University and Higher Education Teachers Secondary Education Teachers Personal Care Aides
Top largest declining jobs
Building Caretakers, Cleaners and Housekeepers Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries Transportation Attendants and Conductors Bank Tellers and Related Clerks Printing and Related Trades Workers Business Services and Administration Managers Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks Graphic Designers Cashiers and Ticket Clerks Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators Accountants and Auditors Security Guards Material-Recording and Stock-Keeping Clerks Data Entry Clerks Client Information and Customer Service Workers
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024; International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT.
Millions of jobs
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Job growth and decline (number of employees), 2025-2030
Projected job creation (blue) and displacement (purple) between 2025 and 2030, in absolute number of jobs, estimated by surveyed employers and calculated based on ILO occupational employment statistics. Projected net number of jobs created or displaced for each occupation over the next five years (diamonds) is calculated by subtracting total job displacement from total job creation.
15 largest growing jobs
15 largest declining jobs
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024; International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT.
2.2
Expected impact of macrotrends on employment
The remainder of this chapter discusses how Future of Jobs Survey respondents expect each of the five macrotrends driving labour market transformation technological change, geoeconomic fragmentation,
green transition, demographic shifts and economic uncertainty - to influence job growth and decline by 2030 (see Figure 2.6).
Expected impact of macrotrends and technology trends on jobs, 2025-2030
Projected job creation attributed to each trend (blue) and projected job displacement attributed to each trend (purple) between 2025 and 2030, based on the job growth and decline attribution expectations of surveyed employers and ILO employment figures by occupation. The projected net number of jobs created or destroyed attributed to each trend in the next five years (diamonds) is calculated by subtracting the total number of declining jobs from the total number of growing jobs. The Appendix provides additional details and the data behind this figure.
Jobs displaced
Net effect
Jobs created
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024; International Labour Organization, ILOSTAT.
Technological change
Technology is predicted to be the most divergent driver of labour-market change, with broadening digital access expected to both create and displace more jobs than any other macrotrend (19 million and 9 million, respectively). Meanwhile, trends in AI and information processing technology are expected to create 11 million jobs, while simultaneously displacing 9 million others, more
than any other technology trend. Robotics and autonomous systems are expected to be the largest net job displacer, with a net decline of 5 million jobs.
These three trends - broadening digital access, advancements in AI and information processing, and robotics and autonomous systems technologies - also feature prominently as drivers of the fastest growing and declining jobs. In fact,
they are among the top drivers of growth for the 10 fastest-growing jobs: AI and information processing technologies are among the top three drivers of growth for all 10 of these jobs; whereas broadening digital access is a top three driver for nine out of these 10 (all except Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists); and robotics and autonomous systems technologies for seven out of these 10 (all except Security Management Specialists, UI and UX Designers, and Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers). In addition, of the 10 fastest- and 10 largest-declining roles, only two (Printing and Related Trades Workers, and Building Caretakers, Cleaners and Housekeepers) feature other trends among their top three drivers of job decline.
By contrast, the largest-growth jobs are influenced by a broader range of macrotrends. The three technology-based trends stand out as expected growth drivers only for light truck and delivery services drivers, software and applications developers, and nursing professionals. This projected growth in demand for nursing professionals is also driven by aging and declining working-age populations, further explored in the demographic shifts section of this chapter.
The presence of both Graphic Designers and Legal Secretaries just outside the top 10 fastest-declining
job roles, a first-time prediction not seen in previous editions of the Future of Jobs Report , may illustrate GenAI's increasing capacity to perform knowledge work. Job decline in both roles is seen as driven by both AI and information processing technologies as well as by broadening digital access. This is a major change from the report's 2023 edition, when Graphic Designers were considered a moderately growing job and Legal Secretaries did not feature in the expected job growth/decline list.
The Shifting human-machine frontier: automation versus augmentation
The interplay between humans, machines and algorithms is redefining job roles across industries. Automation is expected to drive changes in people's ways of working, with the proportional share of tasks performed solely or predominantly by humans expected to decline as technology becomes more versatile. Future of Jobs Survey respondents estimate that, today, 47% of work tasks are performed mainly by humans alone, with 22% performed mainly by technology (machines and algorithms), and 30% completed by a combination of both. By 2030, employers expect these proportions to be nearly evenly split across these three categories/approaches (Figure 2.7).
The shifting human-machine frontier: automation versus augmentation, 2025-2030
Share of total work tasks expected to be delivered predominantly by human workers, by technology (machines and algorithms), or by a combination of both.
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
Globally, the expected reduction in the proportion of work tasks performed by humans is driven primarily by increased automation. Of the nearly 15 percentage point reduction in the proportion of total work tasks delivered by humans in
2030 versus 2025, nearly 82% is attributable to advancing automation, while 19% is projected to derive from expanded human-machine collaboration (Figure 2.8).
Expected shift in the human share of work task delivery in total firm output driven by automation versus augmentation, 2025-2030, global average
Change in proportion of human-performed tasks attributable to increasing automation.
Source
World Economic Forum, Future of Jobs Survey 2024.
Importantly, this analysis only compares the 2025 and 2030 proportions of total task delivery attributable to human employees, technology or collaboration between the two, respectively, and does not consider the potential change in the absolute amount of work tasks (output) getting done. In other words, both machines and humans might be significantly more productive in 2030 - performing more or higher value tasks in the same or less amount of time than it would have taken them to do so in 2025 - so any concern about humans 'running out of things to do' due to automation would be misplaced.
However, a potentially more complex question raised by these projections concerns the on-going share of total economic value creation participated in by human workers: If an increasing amount of a firm's total output and income is derived from advanced machines and proprietary algorithms, to what extent will human workers be able to share in this prosperity? 33 It is in this context that the relevance of the third category/approach, humanmachine collaboration (or 'augmentation') should be highlighted: technology could be designed and developed in a way that complements and enhances, rather than displaces, human work; and, as discussed further in the next chapter (Box 3.1), talent development, reskilling and upskilling strategies may be designed and delivered in a way to enable and optimize human-machine collaboration. 34 It is the investment decisions and policy choices made today that will shape these outcomes in the coming years. 35
At an industry level, while all sectors are expected to see a reduction in the proportion of work tasks performed by humans alone by 2030, they differ in the share of this reduction that is projected to be attributable to automation versus augmentation and human-machine collaboration (Figure 2.9). Insurance and Pensions Management and Telecommunications are leading the automation trend - with more than 95% of human standalone task share reduction in both sectors expected to derive from deeper automation. By contrast, nearly half of the proportional reduction in work tasks done by humans alone in the Medical and Healthcare Services and Government and Public sectors are instead expected to be driven by increased augmentation and human-machine collaboration.
In four sectors - Oil and Gas, Chemicals and Advanced Materials, Financial Services and Capital Markets, and Electronics - automation is projected not only to reduce the proportion of total work tasks predominantly done today standalone by humans, but even to reduce the share of total work tasks currently delivered through humanmachine collaboration (resulting in calculated 'automation shares' of more than 100%, as depicted in Figure 2.9).
Expected shift in the human share of work task delivery in total firm output driven by automation versus augmentation, 2025-2030, by industry
Change in proportion of human-performed tasks attributable to increasing automation.
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