即使美國經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇,低薪勞動者在新冠疫情之后的就業(yè)前景,與疫情之前相比也變得更加糟糕。這種狀況將帶來巨大的影響,它不只是低薪勞動者需要應(yīng)對的一個迫在眉睫的問題,還是整個社會和經(jīng)濟(jì)必須面對的難題。與此同時,高薪勞動者將迎來比疫情之前更光明的就業(yè)前景。
這是麥肯錫全球研究所(McKinsey Global Institute)在2月18日發(fā)布的最新報告《疫情之后的未來就業(yè)》(The Future of Work After COVID-19)中提到的主要觀點。這份報告的內(nèi)容令人大開眼界。它更新了麥肯錫全球研究所在疫情之前對美國、中國、法國、德國、印度、日本、西班牙和英國未來十年的就業(yè)市場變化所作的評估,這些國家將經(jīng)歷與美國基本類似的變化。
這種變化蘊含著巨大的風(fēng)險。麥肯錫的合伙人、經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家蘇珊·倫德博士表示:“如果我們不解決再就業(yè)培訓(xùn)問題,我們就會看到許多人退出勞動力隊伍,導(dǎo)致整體就業(yè)參與率下降,社會不平等加劇,最終產(chǎn)生許多負(fù)面后果?!眰惖虏┦渴潜敬窝芯康呢?fù)責(zé)人之一。
出現(xiàn)這種問題的一個重要的根本原因是,疫情極大加快了先前已經(jīng)存在的三個趨勢的發(fā)展速度:
? 遠(yuǎn)程辦公的普及。報告稱遠(yuǎn)程辦公“可能減少城市中心對公共交通、餐廳和零售的需求”。
? 電子商務(wù)和“外賣經(jīng)濟(jì)”的發(fā)展,“2020年,電商和外賣經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長速度比疫情之前提高了二至五倍。”這種趨勢破壞了休閑旅行、餐廳和零售等行業(yè)的就業(yè)。
? 雇主更多地使用自動化技術(shù)和人工智能。在工廠、倉庫、商店、辦公室等場所,機(jī)器人和流程自動化幫助公司度過了疫情。
這些趨勢已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致更多低薪崗位被淘汰,而疫情放大了這種影響,但高薪崗位較少受到波及。例如,在疫情之前,麥肯錫的情境預(yù)測,在這個十年內(nèi)會有3,700萬美國勞動者被自動化技術(shù)取代;最新的后疫情時代情境預(yù)測將有4,500萬人被取代。報告認(rèn)為,雖然就業(yè)崗位總數(shù)量會增加,但“未來十年凈增加的所有就業(yè)崗位預(yù)計都是高薪崗位?!?/p>
被取代的大部分低收入者未來只有一條出路:他們“需要找到有不同技能要求的高薪崗位。”這是一種根本性變化。倫德說:“在疫情之前,三分之二低薪失業(yè)人口能夠再找到一個低薪崗位,另外三分之一難以找到工作。現(xiàn)在的情況截然不同,三分之二失業(yè)者必須尋找薪酬更高但技能要求也更高的就業(yè)崗位?!?/p>
你可以把這種變化視為絕佳的機(jī)會,但它同時也是嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)。正如報告中所說:“歷史上,從低薪崗位轉(zhuǎn)型到高薪崗位的例子少之又少?!睆V闊的前景在于,這種轉(zhuǎn)型“能夠帶來更好的職業(yè)發(fā)展道路和向上流動的機(jī)會?!崩?,收銀員可以進(jìn)入快速增長的醫(yī)療保健行業(yè),從護(hù)理員做起,然后成為助理護(hù)士,未來能夠成為持牌職業(yè)護(hù)士,這三個循序漸進(jìn)的步驟都需要接受培訓(xùn),但其累計薪酬將是收銀員的一倍以上。
這個十年,人們面臨的一個重大挑戰(zhàn)是需要以前所未有的規(guī)模學(xué)習(xí)新技能。倫德表示:“要解決人們?nèi)绾螐牡托綅徫晦D(zhuǎn)型為具有向上發(fā)展空間的高薪崗位,需要分為兩部分。一方面,我們需要更多短期培訓(xùn)項目。我們首先推出編程新人訓(xùn)練營,幫助人們學(xué)習(xí)編程,但除此之外還有許多類似項目,例如在12周內(nèi)教授認(rèn)證助理護(hù)士需要具備的基本技能。另一方面是幫助人們確定一系列可行的工作變動。公司正在利用人工智能,幫助人們評估其內(nèi)在技能,以及工作變動的順序,以獲得薪酬更高、更穩(wěn)定的工作?!?/p>
而雇主則需要承擔(dān)更多的責(zé)任。他們最清楚自己需要哪些技能。包括沃爾瑪(Walmart)、IBM、博世(Bosch)、巴克萊(Barclays)、默沙東(Merck)、耐克(Nike)在內(nèi)的數(shù)十家公司均擴(kuò)大了培訓(xùn)項目,推出了學(xué)徒項目,或者與學(xué)校合作為大量現(xiàn)有員工或潛在員工提供培訓(xùn)。
倫德看到了這種趨勢的好處。她說:“解決這個問題大有好處。人們可以獲得更高收入,有更高的生產(chǎn)效率,進(jìn)而促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展?!倍宜J(rèn)為這完全是可行的:“疫情讓許多公司認(rèn)識到,他們有能力比人們想象中更快做出反應(yīng),采用全新的經(jīng)營模式。疫情證明,在我們需要和想要做出改變的時候,我們就能快速做出調(diào)整,并取得成功?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
即使美國經(jīng)濟(jì)復(fù)蘇,低薪勞動者在新冠疫情之后的就業(yè)前景,與疫情之前相比也變得更加糟糕。這種狀況將帶來巨大的影響,它不只是低薪勞動者需要應(yīng)對的一個迫在眉睫的問題,還是整個社會和經(jīng)濟(jì)必須面對的難題。與此同時,高薪勞動者將迎來比疫情之前更光明的就業(yè)前景。
這是麥肯錫全球研究所(McKinsey Global Institute)在2月18日發(fā)布的最新報告《疫情之后的未來就業(yè)》(The Future of Work After COVID-19)中提到的主要觀點。這份報告的內(nèi)容令人大開眼界。它更新了麥肯錫全球研究所在疫情之前對美國、中國、法國、德國、印度、日本、西班牙和英國未來十年的就業(yè)市場變化所作的評估,這些國家將經(jīng)歷與美國基本類似的變化。
這種變化蘊含著巨大的風(fēng)險。麥肯錫的合伙人、經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家蘇珊·倫德博士表示:“如果我們不解決再就業(yè)培訓(xùn)問題,我們就會看到許多人退出勞動力隊伍,導(dǎo)致整體就業(yè)參與率下降,社會不平等加劇,最終產(chǎn)生許多負(fù)面后果?!眰惖虏┦渴潜敬窝芯康呢?fù)責(zé)人之一。
出現(xiàn)這種問題的一個重要的根本原因是,疫情極大加快了先前已經(jīng)存在的三個趨勢的發(fā)展速度:
? 遠(yuǎn)程辦公的普及。報告稱遠(yuǎn)程辦公“可能減少城市中心對公共交通、餐廳和零售的需求”。
? 電子商務(wù)和“外賣經(jīng)濟(jì)”的發(fā)展,“2020年,電商和外賣經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長速度比疫情之前提高了二至五倍?!边@種趨勢破壞了休閑旅行、餐廳和零售等行業(yè)的就業(yè)。
? 雇主更多地使用自動化技術(shù)和人工智能。在工廠、倉庫、商店、辦公室等場所,機(jī)器人和流程自動化幫助公司度過了疫情。
這些趨勢已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致更多低薪崗位被淘汰,而疫情放大了這種影響,但高薪崗位較少受到波及。例如,在疫情之前,麥肯錫的情境預(yù)測,在這個十年內(nèi)會有3,700萬美國勞動者被自動化技術(shù)取代;最新的后疫情時代情境預(yù)測將有4,500萬人被取代。報告認(rèn)為,雖然就業(yè)崗位總數(shù)量會增加,但“未來十年凈增加的所有就業(yè)崗位預(yù)計都是高薪崗位?!?/p>
被取代的大部分低收入者未來只有一條出路:他們“需要找到有不同技能要求的高薪崗位?!边@是一種根本性變化。倫德說:“在疫情之前,三分之二低薪失業(yè)人口能夠再找到一個低薪崗位,另外三分之一難以找到工作?,F(xiàn)在的情況截然不同,三分之二失業(yè)者必須尋找薪酬更高但技能要求也更高的就業(yè)崗位?!?/p>
你可以把這種變化視為絕佳的機(jī)會,但它同時也是嚴(yán)峻的挑戰(zhàn)。正如報告中所說:“歷史上,從低薪崗位轉(zhuǎn)型到高薪崗位的例子少之又少?!睆V闊的前景在于,這種轉(zhuǎn)型“能夠帶來更好的職業(yè)發(fā)展道路和向上流動的機(jī)會。”例如,收銀員可以進(jìn)入快速增長的醫(yī)療保健行業(yè),從護(hù)理員做起,然后成為助理護(hù)士,未來能夠成為持牌職業(yè)護(hù)士,這三個循序漸進(jìn)的步驟都需要接受培訓(xùn),但其累計薪酬將是收銀員的一倍以上。
這個十年,人們面臨的一個重大挑戰(zhàn)是需要以前所未有的規(guī)模學(xué)習(xí)新技能。倫德表示:“要解決人們?nèi)绾螐牡托綅徫晦D(zhuǎn)型為具有向上發(fā)展空間的高薪崗位,需要分為兩部分。一方面,我們需要更多短期培訓(xùn)項目。我們首先推出編程新人訓(xùn)練營,幫助人們學(xué)習(xí)編程,但除此之外還有許多類似項目,例如在12周內(nèi)教授認(rèn)證助理護(hù)士需要具備的基本技能。另一方面是幫助人們確定一系列可行的工作變動。公司正在利用人工智能,幫助人們評估其內(nèi)在技能,以及工作變動的順序,以獲得薪酬更高、更穩(wěn)定的工作?!?/p>
而雇主則需要承擔(dān)更多的責(zé)任。他們最清楚自己需要哪些技能。包括沃爾瑪(Walmart)、IBM、博世(Bosch)、巴克萊(Barclays)、默沙東(Merck)、耐克(Nike)在內(nèi)的數(shù)十家公司均擴(kuò)大了培訓(xùn)項目,推出了學(xué)徒項目,或者與學(xué)校合作為大量現(xiàn)有員工或潛在員工提供培訓(xùn)。
倫德看到了這種趨勢的好處。她說:“解決這個問題大有好處。人們可以獲得更高收入,有更高的生產(chǎn)效率,進(jìn)而促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展?!倍宜J(rèn)為這完全是可行的:“疫情讓許多公司認(rèn)識到,他們有能力比人們想象中更快做出反應(yīng),采用全新的經(jīng)營模式。疫情證明,在我們需要和想要做出改變的時候,我們就能快速做出調(diào)整,并取得成功?!保ㄘ敻恢形木W(wǎng))
翻譯:劉進(jìn)龍
審校:汪皓
Even as the U.S. economy expands, the post-pandemic outlook for low-wage workers has become significantly worse than it was before the pandemic. The effect is so large that it’s a looming problem not just for those workers, but also for the larger society and the economy. At the same time, high-wage workers face an even brighter future than they did pre-pandemic.
Those findings are among the most significant in the McKinsey Global Institute’s eye-opening new report, The Future of Work After COVID-19, released on February 18. It updates MGI’s pre-pandemic assessment of labor market changes over the rest of the decade in the U.S., China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, and the U.K.—most of which can expect changes broadly similar to those in the United States.
The stakes are high. “If we don't solve the retraining problem, we're likely to see people dropping out of the labor force, with lower overall participation, rising inequality, and lots of negative consequences,” says Susan Lund, a McKinsey partner and Ph.D. economist who co-led the research.
The big underlying factor is the pandemic’s powerful acceleration of three preexisting trends:
? The expansion of remote work, which “may reduce demand for mass transit, restaurants, and retail in urban centers,” the report says.
? The growth of e-commerce and the “delivery economy,” which “grew two to five times faster in 2020 than before the pandemic.” It’s disrupting jobs in travel and leisure as well as in restaurants and retail.
? Employers’ increasing use of automation and A.I. In factories, warehouses, stores, offices, and elsewhere, robots and process automation have helped companies manage through the pandemic.
All those trends were already eliminating more low-wage jobs than high-wage jobs, and the pandemic has turbocharged the effect. For example, before the pandemic, MGI’s scenario envisaged 37 million U.S. workers displaced by automation in this decade; the new post-pandemic scenario foresees 45 million displaced. The total number of jobs should increase, but “nearly all net job growth over the next decade is projected to be in high-wage occupations,” the report finds.
For most of those displaced low-wage workers, there’s only one way forward: They “will need to find available jobs in higher wage brackets that require very different skills.” That’s a fundamental change. “Before the pandemic, two-thirds of people who lost a low-wage job could get another low-wage job, and one-third couldn’t,” Lund says. “Now it’s the reverse—two-thirds will have to find a higher-wage, higher-skill job.”
You could see that shift as a great opportunity, but it’s also a substantial challenge. As the report says, “Transitions from low- to high-wage occupations have historically been rare.” The promising potential is that those transitions “could offer better career paths and upward mobility.” For example, a cashier could move into the fast-growing health care sector initially as an orderly, then move up to being a nursing assistant, then to being a licensed vocational nurse—three gradual steps, each requiring training, that would cumulatively more than double the cashier’s pay.
The great challenge for this decade will be upskilling on an unprecedented scale. “There are two parts to the solution of getting low-wage people onto upwardly mobile career paths,” says Lund. “One is that we need more short-term training programs. We started with coding boot camps to learn programming, but there are many similar ones that will, for instance, teach in 12 weeks the basic skills you need to be a certified nurse assistant. The second part is helping people figure out a series of job moves they can make. Companies are using A.I. to help people assess their intrinsic skills and what sequence of job moves they could make to get into higher paying, more stable work.”
Employers will take on much of the burden. They know best which skills they need. Dozens of companies—Walmart, IBM, Bosch, Barclays, Merck, Nike, and many others—have expanded their training programs, started apprenticeship programs, or partnered with schools to train large numbers of current or potential employees.
Lund sees the trend’s upside. “If we can navigate this, it’s good,” she says. “We’ll have people earning higher wages, being more productive, and it will boost the economy.” And she believes it’s entirely doable: “The pandemic certainly showed lots of companies that they were able to react and adopt new ways of doing things much faster than anyone thought. It shows that we can adapt really quickly and successfully when we need to and want to.”