Significant technological advances have reshaped society as we know it. But the World Economic Forum (WEF) warned that while this is pushing us into "the fourth industrial revolution" and is transforming the labour markets beyond all recognition from decades ago, it will lead to a net loss of over 5 million jobs in 15 major developed and emerging economies by 2020. These countries include Australia, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the US. WEF said in its report, entitled "The Future of Jobs," which was published on Monday, that while skills and jobs displacement will affect every industry and geographical region, these job losses can be offset by employment growth in other areas. WEF estimated that 7.1 million jobs could be lost through redundancy, automation, or disintermediation, while the creation of 2.1 million new jobs, mainly in more specialised areas such as computing, math, architecture, and engineering, could partially offset some of the losses. "Without urgent and targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with futureproof skills, governments will have to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality, and businesses with a shrinking consumer base," said Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, in the report.

To arrive at those numbers, the WEF surveyed 15 countries that make up 1.9 billion workers, including China, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the UK and US. There is hope, though, and it comes in the form of retraining workers so that they can adapt as technology changes. "To prevent a worst-case scenario -- technological change accompanied by talent shortages, mass unemployment and growing inequality -- reskilling and upskilling of today's workers will be critical," WEF founder Klaus Schwab and board member Richard Samans explained. The full report, titled "The Future of Jobs," is available here.