TRAVEL agents, pharmacy assistants and translators are already being replaced by robots, according to a report.
After a string of warnings that millions of workers will be replaced by machines, a study suggests this is happening now on a grand scale.
It claims that two thirds of the fastest declining jobs in Britain are being hit because of increased automation and advances in technology.
It warns some professions could no longer exist in years to come. But it suggests nail technicians, security guards and chefs are thriving and are largely immune from the rise of the machines.
The study from jobs search engine Adzuna analysed 79 million job adverts placed in Britain in the previous two years.
Of the 20 fastest falling industries in terms of jobs advertised, it said 13 were in decline because of increasing automation. These include pharmacy assistants, travel agents, design engineers, translators and IT support analysts. The surge in the number of people booking their holidays online has led to a fall in demand for travel agents.
Even creative industries which were previously thought to be ‘robot proof’ are not immune, with illustrators, animators and writers also in decline. Google is among those to have designed automated translation software, which is making human translators increasingly redundant. Automated writers are already being used, with the Associated Press using software to write some company financial reports and Yahoo using similar technology to create fantasy sports reports.
And advances in software are also reducing demand for illustrators and animators, according the analysis – which challenges the assumption that low-skilled, low-paid blue collar jobs are most under threat from automation.
Nail technicians, retail security officers, kitchen staff, bar staff, forklift truck drivers as well as chefs are among the fastest-growing professions in terms of number of jobs advertised. Often these jobs are growing simply because the sector is doing well, such as hospitality or construction. But some professions are also growing because of advances in technology.
Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, said: ‘The robots are not just coming, this study shows that they are here already.’
© Daily Mail