Richer countries, including the United States, are expected to lose more jobs to robots in the coming decade than do poorer countries, according to a new study reported on by Wired.
The reason, according to the economic think tank McKinsey Global Institute, is the cost of automation is cheaper and workers' wages are high in developed countries. On the flip side, the cost of automation is relatively high compared to the low wages paid in less-developed countries such as India.
That results in a loss of middle-class jobs such as office administration and running construction equipment in the United States and its peers, while more and more low-wage workers can be added to the roles of growing economies in poorer countries.
More bad news for richer countries: A ripple effect will be felt in lowered wages for those who do survive the cuts for less-demand jobs.
The report by MGI projects automation will take the jobs of between 400 million and 800 million people worldwide from now to 2030. The United States would see a loss of 73 million of those jobs.
According to MGI's projections, the United States, Japan, and Germany are likely to see robots take 25 percent of jobs. India will see only about 9 percent, Mexico 13 percent, and China 16 percent.
That said, more jobs are expected to be created with the money saved through automation.
"There will be enough jobs for all of us in most scenarios," said Susan Lund, who co-authored the report.
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