Andrew Stegmann

Countries at Highest Risk of Job Automation

Automation may render millions of jobs obsolete but some countries may be in a better position to face the robots than others.

That’s based on research from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, a symposium of largely wealthier nations, using 2012 data from 32 of its members to gauge the risk of job automation on different countries.

“The variance in automatability across countries is large,” the researchers Ljubica Nedelkoska and Glenda Quintini wrote. “More generally, jobs in Anglo-Saxon, Nordic countries and the Netherlands are less automatable than jobs in Eastern European countries, South European countries, Germany, Chile and Japan.”

At one end of the spectrum, the researchers found that 33% of all jobs in Slovakia are considered highly automatable or having a 70% or more chance of being automated. That’s followed by 25% of the jobs in Slovenia, and 23% of the jobs in Greece.

Norway, on the the other hand, is the best positioned. About 6% of jobs in the Scandinavian nation are rated as highly automatable, followed by 7% in Finland, and 8% in Sweden. That’s compared to 14% of jobs across the 32 nations researched.

So, where does the United States stand?

About 10% of jobs in the US are at high risk, the researchers found. When adding in jobs that are also at risk of changing significantly due to automation, the US will be considered among the least affected in OECD countries. Though, with nearly 40% of jobs in the country either with a high risk of automation or risk of significant change, the magnitude of the shift is daunting nonetheless.

Still, the research is perhaps more optimistic than some that have come before it. A highly-cited Oxford University study from 2013 found that 47% of jobs in the US are considered highly automatable.

Though some trends remain the same: the jobs considered most automatable are those that require low levels of education and are often low paying. That includes positions in the manufacturing industry or agriculture industry. Those positions are also often those occupied by teenagers.

But the researchers also added a caveat.

“Caution is needed when interpreting the numbers related to the risk of automation: the actual risk of automation is subject to significant variation and, while country rankings at the top and the bottom of the scale are robust to methodological changes, there is more uncertainty for countries closer to the cross-country average,” they cautioned.

To view the full report, click here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: Matt Pritchard [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

The World’s Cheapest and Most Expensive Cities: EIU

The the latest Worldwide Cost of Living report from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has been released.

For a fifth consecutive year, Singapore has been named as the most expensive city in the world.

While last year the top 10 was dominated by cities in Asia, now five of the priciest places in the report are found in Europe, with Paris and Zurich joint-second. Oslo, Geneva and Copenhagen are fifth, joint-sixth and eighth, respectively.

Hong Kong is ranked as the fourth most expensive city, while Seoul (joint-sixth), Tel Aviv (ninth) and Sydney (10th) are also included in the list.

The top 10 most expensive cities, according to the report, are:

1. Singapore

2. (tie) Paris, France

2. (tie) Zurich, Switzerland

4. Hong Kong, China

5. Oslo, Norway

6. (tie) Geneva, Switzerland

6. (tie) Seoul, South Korea

8. Hamburg, Germany

9. Tel Aviv, Israel

10. Sydney, Australia

The survey, which is designed to help create compensation packages for expatriates and those travelling for business, measures the cost of living in 133 major cities, including comparing more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.

It finds that Singapore is the most expensive place to buy and run a car, while the average price for one bottle of wine ($23.68) is considerably more than in most other cities, including the majority of those within the top 10. Only Seoul ($26.54) and Tel Aviv ($28.77) were found to be more expensive.

The priciest cities for groceries

Despite topping the rankings, Singapore does offer relative value in some categories, especially compared with its regional peers, the report says.

For categories such as personal care, household goods and domestic help, Singapore remains significantly cheaper than Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo, which are the most expensive places in the world to buy staple goods.

In Seoul, for example, filling up a grocery basket is almost 50% more expensive than in New York, which ranks 13th in the overall list, the highest of any city in the United States.

Los Angeles, which ranked 14th overall, is the next most expensive US city, down from 11th last year. Indeed, US cities have become comparatively cheaper thanks largely to the dollar weakening against other currencies, the report says, with all but one (Boston) of the 16 surveyed falling down the rankings.

The report also warns of a number of fallouts that could take place this year as political and economic shocks start to take effect.

It points out that the United Kingdom has already seen sharp declines in the relative cost of living as a result of the Brexit referendum and related currency weaknesses. The prospect of the UK leaving the European Union in March 2019 means the country is now cheaper – with London ranking 30th overall.

A house in Damascus, Syria.

Cheaper cities tend to be less liveable

At the bottom of the rankings, Damascus is the cheapest city in the world, dropping 14 places in comparison to last year. Caracas is the next cheapest city, with its ranking falling 13 places since the survey was last conducted, highlighting the impact of political or economic disruption, the report says.

For many Syrian and Venezuelan nationals, however, neither Damascus nor Caracas would be considered cheap, as rocketing prices in recent years have made groceries more difficult for people to afford.

There’s one European capital among the world’s 10 cheapest cities.

The 10 cheapest cities, according to the report, are:

133. Damascus, Syria

132. Caracas, Venezuela

131. Almaty, Kazakhstan

130. Lagos, Nigeria

129. Bangalore, India

128. Karachi, Pakistan

127. Algiers, Algeria

126. Channai, India

125. Bucharest, Romania

124. New Delhi, India

The report adds: “There is a considerable element of risk in some of the world’s cheapest cities… and there is some correlation between the EIU survey and its sister ranking, the liveability survey. Put simply, cheaper cities also tend to be less liveable.”

To view the full report, click here.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, and Remuneration needs, email marketing@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: EWN [1]. Image sources: Pierpaolo Lanfrancotti [1], Neil Carey [2].