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Employment in the New Age of Automation - 3/30/15

Economic growth, even when it seems impressive, appears to be generating fewer jobs than in the past.  Often, the jobs being created are part-time and not well compensated.  According to Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at New York University, this indicates that "the share of labor in the economy is collapsing and that will continue." 

As indicated by a recent article penned by Katrin Bennhold, some people are speaking of a third industrial revolution.  Others call it a second machine age.  With the processing speed of computers doubling roughly every eighteen months and machines getting smarter by the day, paid work for human beings could become much scarcer. 

According to a recent study by economist Carl Benedikt Frey and professor Michael Osborne of the University of Oxford, forty-seven percent of all employment in the U.S. is susceptible to automation over the next two decades.  Among the jobs at risk are those held by accountants, truck drivers, machinists, and strawberry pickers among many others.

Anirban Basu, Chariman Chief Executive Officer of Sage Policy Group (SPG), is one of the Mid-Atlantic region's leading economic consultants. Prior to founding SPG he was Chairman and CEO of Optimal Solutions Group, a company he co-founded and which continues to operate. Anirban has also served as Director of Applied Economics and Senior Economist for RESI, where he used his extensive knowledge of the Mid-Atlantic region to support numerous clients in their strategic decision-making processes. Clients have included the Maryland Department of Transportation, St. Paul Companies, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Players Committee and the Martin O'Malley mayoral campaign.