The Future of Jobs Report 2020

The report analyzes a 'double-disruption' scenario where pandemic-induced economic contraction and accelerated technological adoption transform the global workforce. It projects that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced while 97 million new roles emerge, emphasizing a critical need for large-scale reskilling and a 'Global Reset' to ensure an equitable transition.

• The global workforce is facing a 'double-disruption' where the COVID-19 recession and technological adoption simultaneously transform tasks and skills. By 2025, the time spent on work tasks by humans and machines is expected to be equal.
• While technology-driven job creation is expected to outpace destruction, the rate of job creation is slowing while destruction accelerates. It is estimated that by 2025, 85 million jobs may be displaced and 97 million new roles may emerge.
• Business leaders are prioritizing the adoption of cloud computing, big data, and e-commerce, with a significant increase in interest for artificial intelligence, non-humanoid robots, and encryption.
• There is a high demand for new skill sets by 2025, particularly in critical thinking, analysis, problem-solving, and self-management skills such as resilience, stress tolerance, and flexibility.
• Reskilling needs are extensive, with 50% of all employees requiring reskilling and 40% of workers needing reskilling of six months or less. However, employee engagement is low, with only 42% taking up employer-supported opportunities.
• Remote work has expanded rapidly, with 84% of employers set to digitalize processes and the potential to move 44% of their workforce to remote operations.
• The pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities, disproportionately impacting lower-wage workers, women, and younger workers. The impact on those with lower education levels is more significant than during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.
• Online learning has seen a massive surge: a four-fold increase in self-initiated learning, a five-fold increase in employer-provided online learning, and a nine-fold increase in government-programme enrolments.
• Employers are increasingly relying on informal, on-the-job learning, with 94% expecting employees to pick up new skills on the job, compared to 65% in 2018.
• Public sector support for reskilling is currently insufficient, with only 21% of businesses reporting the ability to use public funds to support employee training.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). The Future of Jobs Report 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. The Future of Jobs Report 2020. 2020. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=The Future of Jobs Report 2020 |date=October 2020 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020future, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{The Future of Jobs Report 2020}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = oct, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Future_of_Jobs_2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }