100M workers in eight nations may need to change occupations by 2030 due to COVID-19: McKinsey

More than 100 million workers across the world’s top eight economies may be forced to change occupations by 2030 due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report released Thursday. 

The COVID-19 crisis has accelerated globally trending changes in the workplace, prompting consultant firm McKinsey & Company to raise its prediction for how many workers will likely need to switch jobs in the top eight economies by 12 percent.

This would add up to one in 16 workers having to change jobs in China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

The estimated 100 million includes 17 million employees in the U.S., amounting to one out of every 10 workers, as low-wage work in retail and hospitality dwindles, Bloomberg News reported, citing the analysis. 

Women, ethnic minorities, young people and less-educated workers in the U.S. and Europe are now more likely to have to switch jobs than before the pandemic, McKinsey said.

Those who do not have a college degree in the U.S. are 1.3 times more likely than those with degrees to have to change occupations. Black and Hispanic workers in the country are 1.1 times more likely than white workers to enter a new occupation. 

The pandemic “disruption” sped up three trends set to transform the global workforce, Bloomberg noted, including more remote work and working from home, more e-commerce for a larger “delivery economy” and more artificial intelligence and robot involvement in the workplace. 

McKinsey emphasized in its report that the estimates show that about half of those in the lower two wage brackets will need new skills in order to obtain a new job in higher wage brackets. 

“The scale of workforce transitions set off by COVID-19’s influence on labor trends increases the urgency for businesses and policymakers to take steps to support additional training and education programs for workers,” the institute wrote.