Ball State Study Warns of Automation, Offshoring Threats
(Graphic courtesy of Ball State University)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA new report from Ball State University provides a snapshot of two forces that could have a big impact on the work force of the future: automation and offshoring. The research looks at communities throughout the country and suggests 10 counties in Indiana could be especially susceptible. Nationwide, the analysis found approximately one in four U.S. jobs faces future threats from foreign competition.
It says LaGrange, Switzerland, Blackford and Perry counties are at risk of job loss from automation and offshoring threats lurk in LaGrange, Clinton, Kosciusko, Elkhart, Blackford, Hamilton and DeKalb counties. The results suggest LaGrange County is among the most vulnerable areas in the country to losing jobs to potential offshoring in the future.
CBER Director Michael Hicks says "automation is likely to replace half of all low-skilled jobs. Communities where people have lower levels of educational attainment and lower incomes are the most vulnerable to automation. Considerable labor market turbulence is likely in the coming generation. More worrisome is that there is considerable concentration of job loss risks across labor markets, educational attainment and earnings. This accrues across industries and is more pronounced across urban regions, where economies have concentrated all net new employment in the U.S. for a generation."
The research is a collaboration between the school’s Center for Business and Economic Research and Rural Policy Institute Center for State Policy.
Connect to the full study results by clicking here.