It seems logical to suppose that robotics eliminates jobs. Robots have certainly sent thousands of auto workers packing. Yet, the robotics industry is apparently creating thousands of jobs to support the development and production of robots. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) commissioned a study by Metra Martech to ascertain just how many jobs the robot industry has actually created, while also offering a peek into future job creation in the robotics industry.
The study, "Positive Impact of Industrial Robots on Employment," claims that by 2016, the robot industry will add another 1 million jobs worldwide. That would come in addition to the 8 million to 10 million jobs that Metra Martech estimates have already been created by the robotics industry.
The jobs fall into a number of industries, from consumer electronics to food, solar, and advanced battery manufacturing. The study also questions whether robotics has cut deeply into the manufacturing employment population. The report noted that between 2000 and 2008, manufacturing employment increased in nearly every major industrialized country, even as robotics increased sharply.
There is certainly no doubt robots eliminate factory jobs. The question the study prompts is whether there is a net job loss due to robotics or simply a displacement of jobs from repetitive blue-collar work to technical jobs.
The report’s author, Peter Gorle, noted that robots are being used to carry out work that would not be economically viable in a high-wage economy, thus allowing the manufacturing to remain in the high-wage country. He also pointed to robot use that has nothing to do with job displacement, specifically the use of robots for tasks that are unsafe for humans or tasks that would simply be impossible for humans.
While the United States, Japan, and Germany have led in the adoption of robotics in manufacturing, emerging countries are beginning to deploy robots as well, particularly China and Brazil.
Robots for quality, not job elimination Part of the growth in robot jobs comes from the expanded tasks that are getting shifted to robots. “In former times, robots were primarily used in order to replace workers and save costs. This has changed,” Gudrun Litzenberger, general secretary of the IFR, told Design News. “The manufacturing industry all over the world is forced to improve their production processes. Robots are being used to accomplish this.” He notes that the reasons to use robots have simply diversified.
Because of the diversification and the success of robots in industries such as automotive, there has been a surge in the deployment of robots. “The number of industrial robots in operation will increase from 1 million in 2010 to 1.3 million in 2014,” says Litzenberger.
While automotive has led the development of robotics in manufacturing, robot applications are diversifying into new industries. “The high volume of industrial robots will continue to come from the automotive industry,” Litzenberger notes. “The establishment of electro mobility, new materials such as carbon composites, and modernization of production processes will be the main drivers for investment.”
Another industry that has lately turned to robots for manufacturing is electronics. “The electrical and electronics industry will continue to invest in capacity and modernization. The trend towards more energy-efficient products, increasing consumer markets for electronic products, and new production technologies will further boost robot installations.”
Litzenberger points to other industries where the use of robotics is gaining momentum, including rubber and plastics, metal and machinery, pharmaceuticals, and food and beverage. So, while robots are certainly trimming repetitive manufacturing jobs, the robotics industry continues to add jobs at an aggressive rate.
The numbers may be biased, and it's most likely true that most of the jobs gained by the use of robots are high-tech jobs. I take issue with those who question the morality of companies using robots instead of hiring blue-collar labor to do the same job. To claim that someone is putting a "spin" on the numbers is to imply that someone is doing something evil that they want to paint as being good.
Thanks for your comment, kcp. You make a valid Ron Paul-sian point,. My comment expressing skepticism about the job numbers in the survey wasn't meant to argue one way or another the issue about who should or shouldn't provide jobs. It was simply to say that the numbers bandied about didn't seem to make sense.
How's this for a spin: Manufacturing companies do not exist for the purpose of employing unskilled labor. They exist to make products that people want to buy at a price they're willing to pay, and to provide profits for shareholders, like me.
One should not expect companies to provide jobs for people with few skills anymore than one should expect companies to lower their prices so that people with little money can afford their products. Or would you like them to cut corners in order to do so, like making products that don't last, are full of defects, or are unsafe? You don't get something for nothing.
The expectations placed on automotive manufacturers to produce better, faster, safer, more durable, more fuel efficient, cleaner, cheaper, and yet larger vehicles requires engineering know-how, expensive equipment, and - yes- robots. It doesn't require more unskilled hands.
Assuming robots create jobs, isn't it the case they are creating a new breed of jobs? Likely for someone who's more educated? If I have a high level of education and/or technical training, I would imagine there wouldn't be an issue. If I'm low on the education/training scale, I would imagine times could be tougher. Is that the case, Rob?
Yes, I can understand the skepticism. The study wisely chose to not make the claim that the robotics industry was creating more jobs than it was eliminating. It's not inconceivable, though. Many economists argued that the computer industry spent decades displacing jobs -- from clerical to technical -- rather than delivering a net reduction in jobs. Some claim the computer industry didn't actually begin reducing jobs until the late 80s or early 90s.
I'm also skeptical, as I would be about statements that jobs are being created in any industry, since they are also being taken away on a regular basis, by robots or by other factors and trends. And I'm even more skeptical when an industry association tells me that something the industry's doing is really not harmful, especially if there's been a hint that it is harmful. That sounds like spin. For one thing, assuming the displacement from blue-collar to technical jobs is true, it still means that a lot of blue-collar workers are out of a job? Whether there's a net loss or a net gain is anyone's guess. And saying that robots do jobs humans wouldn't do because they are too dangerous--uh, humans will do those jobs anyway if they need to be done. For example, miners in West Virginia.
And to take the skepticism to another level - it makes sense that the jobs making robots will, more than likely, soon be taken over by robots. Don't you think?
I'm a skeptic here. First off, the demarcation between robots creating jobs and the robotics industry creating jobs is not really clear. If it's the latter, yeah, sure, there are going to be jobs making robots. As well, to say that there are going to be 1 million jobs created -- well, I'm not sure that number is all that impressive in the context of the number of jobs that'll be made obsolete by robots. I should caveat this by saying I support the robots industry. I'm just saying that the gross-level economic argument set forth in this story is not as impressive as it's made out to be.
It's great to see that the robotics industry is taking off and serving a jobs-creation vehicle. Hopefully many of those jobs are in the United States and not just offshore. Just so I'm clear, the bulk of the jobs creation the study cites is related to jobs at the robotics technology companies, not at the end user sites actually putting the robots to work in industrial applications.
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