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Quick and Painful: Brace for Job Automation's Next Wave

Automation could displace nearly 2.5 million workers per year in the coming decade.

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Quick and Painful: Brace for Job Automation's Next Wave
Quick and Painful: Brace for Job Automation's Next Wave
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Rapid automation of the US service sector in the 2020s could eliminate jobs two to three times more rapidly than in previous industry transformations. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and advances in robotics may increase service sector productivity significantly, but over time, these innovations will likely exacerbate inequality, weaken demand and diminish growth.

Related Bain Brief: Labor 2030

Karen Harris is managing director of Bain & Company’s Macro Trends Group and is based in the firm’s New York office. Austin Kimson is director of Bain’s Macro Trends Group and is based in the Dallas office. Andrew Schwedel is a partner in the New York office.

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Macro Trends Insights

Demographics, automation and inequality could dramatically reshape our world in the 2020s and beyond. Our insights discuss how executives can prepare for the new global economy.

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