Robots are Adding Jobs!

First published in 2019; updated November 2026.

Current headlines will tell you that automation eliminates jobs- but trends are indicating otherwise. While jobs are changing with its introduction, more work, not less, is being created in automation’s wake.

Like most buzz worthy headlines, it’s reductive to state that automation is out for our jobs and livelihoods. It’s not wrong to say that technology is dramatically restructuring the face of our society, but the fear that lingers when automation is the topic is out of proportion. The truth is, there’s no walking innovation back, and automation is simply a symptom of an innovative species. Historically speaking, attempts to do just that result in more than just failure- resistance can mean death (at least in the terms of a company’s growth and profits). What’s to be done in the face of inevitable evolution? The same humans and their economies have always done- adapt and grow. We are ceaselessly marching towards the future after all, whether some want to or not.

The unease about automation is understandable: that increased automation will gobble up positions and jobs, rendering humans obsolete and leaving great swaths of the population unemployed and subjected to poverty. But the panic surrounding the possibilities is out of proportion with the reality. In its 2018 Future of Jobs report, the World Economic Forum, a Swiss not-for-profit organization dedicated to conducting research into worldwide economic trends, predicted that while automation may displace up to 75 million jobs by 2022, up to 133 million new roles could be created in parallel. For the US in particular, the BBC reported in 2018 that an OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) study found only about 10% of jobs had a high risk of complete automation take over, over a period of 20 years.

Software automation consolidates and unifies business transactions, robotic automation removes menial and repetitive human labor. For businesses, net gains resulting from reductions in costs through increased automation frees them up to deliver higher quality products- and ultimately increase spending. Likewise, automation will inevitably lead to greater product output, which facilitates expansion and company growth. The inevitable productivity gains allowed through automation yields profitable results for both companies and their consumers. Automate America is where companies post the automation work this creates.

Surprisingly, automation is poised to reinvigorate the domestic market. The promise to bring manufacturing (and its jobs) from the clutches of irresistible outsourcing back to the US has long been a rallying cry of political motivators and new entrepreneurial start ups alike. Unlike the predominantly futile traditional efforts in resurrecting long dead industries, (the ones buried on US soil at least), increased automation is shaping up to be an unexpected deliverer of American based jobs. This is largely due to the concept of ‘reshoring’, which occurs when companies are subjected to increasing production costs worldwide and balk at the rising expenses. Robotics automation, and the cost efficiencies they promise, are investments in domestic jobs. And their returns in value can’t be understated. Despite fears of the contrary, increased automation is a crucial component of reshoring initiatives- and if successful given current trends, can actually create more jobs in the US market.

For jobs that require skilled work, automation doesn’t seek to ‘take over’ their jobs- they stand to improve, innovate, streamline, and create new opportunities. Robotics, engineering, and manufacturing markets are among the types of industries that will still require skilled human workers alongside automation advancement. Automation complements, instead of substitutes. Automate America successfully operates with this knowledge that increased automation creates jobs. What sort of valuable tasks are allowed now that increased automation has created them?

Look around any modern plant and the answer is there: robot programmers, controls and automation engineers, integrators, maintenance and field technicians, and machine-vision and safety specialists. Every new line, cell and retrofit needs people to design it, program it, commission it and keep it running. The robots are adding jobs, and the people who build these skills are the ones who will fill them.

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