New Delhi: The job scenario is heading for a drastic change in five years as some crucial sectors will likely lose employment capacity while some sectors will get a boost.
According to the latest report released by the World Economic Forum, shifting global trends in technology, economy, demographics, and the green transition are projected to generate 170 million new jobs by 2030, while displacing 92 million others.
The ‘Future of Jobs Report 2025’ says that some of the fastest-growing jobs are found in data, technology, and artificial intelligence (AI), but growth is also expected for core economy roles, including delivery drivers, care roles, educators, and farm workers. The fastest-growing skills by 2030 will include technological skills alongside human skills. It suggests collective action in the public, private, and education sectors is urgently needed to address the growing skills gaps.
Counterbalance Of Jobs
The report estimates that, by 2030, changes driven by macro trends will result in new job creation and job loss amounting to a combined total of 22 per cent of current formal jobs. Specifically, it is anticipated that macro trends will create 170 million new jobs or 14 per cent of the current workforce. However, this growth will be counterbalanced by the displacement of 92 million existing jobs, which accounts for 8 per cent of total employment. The net result will be a growth of 78 million jobs, representing 7 per cent of today’s workforce, by 2030.
Based on the data from more than 1000 companies, the report highlighted that the skill gap remains the biggest obstacle to business transformation today. Nearly 40 per cent of the skills needed for jobs are expected to change, and 63 per cent of employers already identify it as their primary challenge. The demand for technology skills, particularly in AI, big data, and cybersecurity, is set to grow rapidly. However, human skills like creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, and agility will continue to be essential. A balance of both technical and human skills will be increasingly vital in a rapidly evolving job market.
Job growth by 2030 is expected to be highest in frontline roles and critical sectors such as care and education. At the same time, advancements in AI and renewable energy are transforming the market, boosting demand for technology and specialist roles while reducing demand for others, like graphic designers.
Till Leopold, Head of Work, Wages, and Job Creation at the World Economic Forum, said that trends like generative AI and swift technological advancements are disrupting industries and labour markets, creating both unique opportunities and significant risks. Now is the time for businesses and governments to collaborate, invest in skills, and build a fair and resilient global workforce, he added.
India's Position
As per the report, the demand for AI skills has accelerated globally, with India and the United States leading in enrolment numbers. However, the drivers of demand differ. It suggests that in the United States, demand is primarily driven by individual users, whereas in India, corporate sponsorship plays a significant role in boosting GenAI training uptake.
Reports suggest that by 2030, the future of jobs in India will largely be influenced by three key trends: increased digital access, geopolitical tensions, and climate mitigation efforts. Companies in India, like their global counterparts, are making significant investments in AI, robotics, autonomous systems, and energy technologies.
Additionally, Indian employers plan to adopt certain technologies faster than their global peers, with 35% anticipating that semiconductors and computing technologies and 21% expecting quantum computing and encryption will reshape their operations. The country's fastest-growing job roles—such as Big Data Specialists, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, and Security Management Specialists—are closely aligned with these technological shifts.
To meet talent demands, Indian companies are focusing on diversifying their talent pools (67%, compared to 47% globally) and embracing skills-based hiring by removing degree requirements (30%, compared to 19% globally).
Experts Speak
Clinical Professor (OB) of the Indian School of Business Dr Chandrasekhar Sripada, in an interview with ETV Bharat on this report, said that wherever new-age technology, AI, and robotics increase productivity, we should certainly welcome it. However, wherever it directly impacts jobs and creates jobless growth without finding ways to redeploy people, we must be cautious.
According to him, it may be the case that new jobs are going to be created all over the world, but in India, we should take this differently, and our approach should be very cautious. He also added that it won't impact much if a postman loses his job due to automation in Finland, but if it happens massively in India if a postman in a remote village loses his job 10 years ahead of his retirement, he won't be able to find a new job again.
Chandrasekhar Sripada also said that in India, employment is the biggest issue, so here, a mindless adaptation of automation and displacement of jobs is not very desirable. We should work more on skilling and reskilling people, and also there is a need to create a proper roadmap to provide jobs to those people whose jobs are at stake due to the technological revolution. We should evaluate this on a case-by-case basis and should work on preventive measures.
Jobs That Are Growing
Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists, Software and Applications Developers, Security, Management Specialists, Data Warehousing Specialists, Autonomous and Electric Vehicle Specialists, UI and UX Designers, Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers, Internet of Things Specialists, Data Analysts and Scientists, Environmental Engineers, Information Security Analysts, DevOps Engineer, Renewable Energy Engineers, Farmworkers, labourers, and other agricultural workers, Light Truck or Delivery Services Drivers, Software and Applications Developers, Building Framers, Finishers, and Related Trades Workers, Shop Salespersons, Food Processing and Related Trades Workers, Car, Van, and Motorcycle Drivers, Nursing Professionals, Food and Beverage Serving Workers, General and Operations Managers, Social Work and Counselling Professionals, Project Managers, University and Higher Education Teachers, Secondary Education Teachers, and Personal Care Aides
Jobs Expecting Decline
Postal Service Clerks, Bank Tellers and Related Clerks, Data Entry Clerks, Cashiers and Ticket Clerks, Administrative Assistants and Executive Secretaries, Printing and Related Trades Workers, Accounting, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Clerks, Material-Recording and Stock-Keeping Clerks, Transportation Attendants and Conductors, Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors and Related Workers, Graphic Designers, Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators, Legal Officials, Legal Secretaries, Telemarketers, Security Guards, Client Information and Customer Service Workers, Graphic Designers, Business Services and Administration Managers, Claims Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
Automation vs. Augmentation
The report mentions that the interplay between humans, machines, and algorithms is redefining job roles across industries. Automation is expected to drive changes in people’s ways of working, with the proportional share of tasks performed solely or predominantly by humans expected to decline as technology becomes more versatile. Future of Jobs Survey respondents estimate that currently 47% of work tasks are performed mainly by humans alone, with 22% performed mainly by technology (machines and algorithms) and 30% completed by a combination of both. Employers expect that by 2030 these proportions will be nearly evenly split across these three categories or approaches.
Besides this, broadening digital access is also expected to be the most transformative trend—both across technology-related trends and overall—with 60% of employers expecting it to transform their business by 2030. Advancements in technologies, particularly AI and information processing (86%); robotics and automation (58%); and energy generation, storage, and distribution (41%), are also expected to be transformative. These trends are expected to have a divergent effect on jobs, driving both the fastest-growing and fastest-declining roles and fuelling demand for technology-related skills, including AI and big data, networks and cybersecurity, and technological literacy, which are anticipated to be the top three fastest-growing skills.
Frontline Job Predicted To Grow include farmworkers, delivery drivers, Construction Workers, Salespersons, and Food Processing Workers. Care economy jobs, such as nursing professionals, social work and counselling professionals, and personal care aides, are also expected to grow significantly over the next five years, alongside education roles such as tertiary and secondary education teachers.
The report concludes by saying that, on one hand, amid emerging drivers such as increasing living costs and widespread adoption of AI tools in the workforce, global macro trends are creating an increasingly complex environment for policymakers, employers, and workers to navigate, with uncertainty remaining high. On the other hand, the report finds a strongly positive global employment outlook, with a continued decrease in the rate of skills obsolescence, as reskilling, upskilling, and redeployment initiatives implemented in recent years begin to show their impact on the global workforce.
However, skills gaps remain the primary barrier to transformation across most industries and economies. This year’s edition of the Future of Jobs Report captures early signals of likely future priority areas for constructive multi-stakeholder engagement. These include a need for proactive, dynamic job transitions across a wider and growing range of roles, as well as questions about the appropriate balance between deeper automation and broader human augmentation in the future.
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