• More creative skills required by human workers
• The industrial robotics industry will be worth $352 billion by 2030, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 39% from 2021.
• By 2030, the robotic process automation (RPA) market will be worth $20 billion

Workers don’t need to worry that increased industrial automation will lead to mass unemployment, says GlobalData, noting that robotics is expected to only change how people work, not replace human workers. The leading data and analytics company notes that certain skills such as communication and leadership will become more valuable, as some labor will shift towards areas where human input remains vital such as creative or artistic professions and social services.

Industrial automation will not lead to mass unemployment

GlobalData’s report, ‘The Future of Work – Thematic Intelligence’, notes that robots will perform more and more tasks in repetitive roles such as in warehouses, hospitals, and retail stores by 2030, leading human workers to shift towards more creative roles. According to GlobalData, active job listings requiring creative skills have increased by 159% between July 2021 and July 2022.

Carolina Pinto, Thematic Intelligence Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Currently, there is widespread fear that machines and software will replace traditional human tasks and lead to mass unemployment. However, this assumption is misguided. Automation will certainly change how humans work, but will not replace them. Not only will many jobs be created to monitor and manage the machines, but many human roles will simply be supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and RPA—software that can be programmed to perform basic tasks across a range of platforms and applications.”

The industrial robotics industry will be worth $352 billion by 2030

GlobalData’s report notes that global supply chain disruption and inflation will only fuel supply chain automation across different industries. By 2030, the industrial robotics industry will be worth $352 billion, having grown at a CAGR of 39% between 2021 and 2030 due to industrial automation. The RPA market will be worth $20 billion by 2030.

Pinto continues: “The adoption of RPA and AI technologies in digital transformation is a gradual process. Although accelerated by the pandemic, these technologies are not yet aimed to fully replace human labor. They aim to complement human labor and improve efficiency by reducing costs and improving the accuracy of historically time-consuming and repetitive tasks.”

Information based on GlobalData’s latest reports: ‘The Future of Work – Thematic Intelligence’ and ‘Robotic Process Automation – Thematic intelligence’