Robots and AI are threatening close to a third of UK jobs, study reveals

Up to 30 per cent of UK jobs are at risk of being taken over by robots and Artificial Intelligence by the early 2030s, a new report warns. The study, published by professional services firm PwC, claims that the likelihood of automation is highest in sectors including transport, manufacturing, wholesale and retail. Education, health and social work are less at risk and-- as a result of that-- male workers are more likely to see their jobs taken over by robots than their female counterparts. Despite the threat, though, PwC says that the rise of automation is actually likely to boost productivity and generate additional jobs elsewhere in the economy in the long run. "Automating more manual and repetitive tasks will eliminate some existing jobs, but could also enable some workers to focus on higher value, more rewarding and creative work, removing the monotony from our day jobs," said John Hawksworth, chief economist at PwC. "By boosting productivity - a key UK weakness over the past decade - and so generating wealth, advances in robotics and AI should also create additional jobs in less automatable parts of the economy as this extra wealth is spent or invested," he added.