Robots will create more than one million jobs by 2016, says report

Tokyo, Japan--Robotics will be a major driver for global job creation over the next five years, according to a study conducted by Metra Martech, a market research firm.

One million industrial robots currently in operation have been directly responsible for the creation of close to three million jobs, the study concludes. A growth in robot use over the next five years will result in the creation of one million high-quality jobs around the world in such industries as consumer electronics, food, solar and wind power, and advanced battery manufacturing.

In additional to the million jobs expected to be directly created by the increased use of robotics, the report’s authors also highlighted that saving manufacturing jobs also results in saving jobs throughout the community. This means that restaurants, shops, and the service economy also benefit from this valuable ripple effect.

The report highlights that between 2000-2008, manufacturing employment increased in nearly every major industrialized country, even as the use of robotics increased sharply. This same pattern is now being seen in China, Brazil, and other emerging countries as they rapidly increase their use of robotics. In Brazil, the number of robots almost quadrupled during the study period, with both production and employment rising by over 20%.

The report finds that manufacturing employment is stronger in countries that continue to accelerate their robot investments, such as in the automotive sector. The report’s author, Peter Gorle, also highlights three critical areas of growth in robotic deployment: robots that carry out work in areas that would be unsafe for humans; robots that carry out work that would not be economically viable in a high-wage economy; and robots that carry out work that would be impossible for humans.

The report concludes that the growth of high-tech industries such as the electronics/semiconductors and pharmaceutical sectors was significantly assisted by robots providing the required quality, precision, speed, and traceability that cannot be achieved manually.

Robotics will make great inroads in service industries, especially healthcare, where an aging population will require support services for which human caregivers will be too few in number to provide, says the report. Robots will likewise play an important role in transportation and in the provision of home services, as well as help protect homes and offices, secure borders, and monitor the environment in both routine and emergency operations.

The next generation of robotics puts us on the cusp of another increase in employment in the robotics industry itself, according to the report, whose authors estimate that 300,000 people are already employed in the industrial robotics sector and an additional 45,000 people will be required by the industry within five years. The service robotics sector is expected to grow even faster than the industrial sector in the medium term and could itself be a major source of future jobs.

The report, "Positive Impact of Industrial Robots on Employment," focuses on six countries, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, Korea, and the US, which are considered to be representative of the global economy.

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