People and places, today and tomorrow
Until recently, most research on the potential effects of automation has focused on the national-level effects across different demographic groups. But, will those national effects be felt evenly across cities and communities?
The McKinsey Global Institute analyzed more than 3,000 US counties and 315 cities to find out. In their new report, The Future of Work in America: People and Places, Today and Tomorrow, they find that communities across the nation are on sharply different paths. Automation is not happening in a vacuum, and the health of local economies today will affect their ability to adapt and thrive in the face of the changes that lie ahead.
The trends outlined in this report could widen existing disparities between high-growth cities and struggling rural areas, and between high-wage workers and everyone else. Local business leaders, policy makers, and educators will need to work together to chart a new course if we want to avoid this outcome.