Business Automation, Employment and Prospects

Business Automation, Employment, and Prospects

Business Prospects

Several organizations routinely survey business executives and leaders within relevant market segments or from a broader range of participants. Most questions focus on concerns, priorities, and needs. Following are highlights from recently researched online resources.

In its 2017 report, Deloitte presented millennial perspectives based on surveys conducted with 7,900 participants in 30 countries who have college/university degrees and work full-time. Of the many insights, two revealed employment concerns. Recent political and social events apparently influenced future planning, with a lower percentage of individuals likely to leave their current employers within two years (a decrease from 44% in 2016 to 38% in 2017. Regarding automation, 44% expected less demand for their skills, and 51% anticipated they will need retraining. [1]

One portion of PwC’s 2017 survey of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) explored “managing man and machine,” with market estimates that justified millennials’ automation fears. The number of industrial robots grew substantially in the past twenty years: From 700,000 units in 1997 to 1.8 million in 2017 with the potential to reach 2.6 million by 2019. [2]

In addition to its CEO survey, PwC also questioned 5,000 members of the general public in 22 countries and found that nearly 80% believed that technology will lead to job losses by 2021. Over the short term, however, slightly more than half of the CEO pool expected to hire more employees during the next twelve months. [3]

The problem is finding employees whose skills will support company growth through creativity, innovation, on demand services, technology, etc. Greater collaboration among employers, governments, and institutions will provide better educated and more qualified job candidates. [4]

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) presented a near-term outlook on business conditions based on interviews with 102 members conducted in late December 2016 and mid-January 2017. Almost half of the respondents (46%) reported increased sales during the fourth quarter of 2016 while only 10% experienced declines. More than one-third of participants expected to raise prices during the first quarter of 2017, but hiring was unchanged. Proposed revisions in federal policies generated mixed reactions: Most considered corporate tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and reduced regulation to be beneficial, but a “border adjustment” tax, immigration restrictions, and renegotiated trade agreements were perceived as risky. [5]

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[1] The 2017 Deloitte Millennial Survey (Download PDF).

[2] 20th CEO Survey, Managing Man and Machine.

[3] Ibid.

{4] Ibid.

[5] National Association for Business Economics, Business Conditions Survey, January 2017.