Mass unemployment is a feared economy-wide rise in joblessness caused by automation. New machines can make workers’ skills obsolete, forcing them to seek different jobs, sometimes for lower pay. section 5.11
The key question is whether automation produces prolonged mass unemployment or expands the economy. Machines can produce the same goods with fewer work hours, increasing output and lowering prices. Freed human time can then support innovation and new forms of production. Historical change complicates the fear: about 60% of employment in 2018 was in job titles that did not exist in 1940. section 5.11
From essential goods to new output
An economy that once needs many workers to produce food and clothes can use machines to reduce that labor requirement. The released capacity may support products and services such as entertainment, television series, medical care, or haircuts. section 5.11
