Fall in number of jobs at risk from robots

The proportion of jobs at risk from automation has fallen slightly in recent years, a new study suggests.

An assessment of 20 million jobs by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) indicated a fall from 8.1 per cent to 7.4 per cent of all roles between 2011 and 2017. A higher proportion of jobs held by women and younger workers are at risk of automation, according to the analysis.

The risk of job automation falls as workers get older, and is lowest for those aged 35 to 39, said the ONS.

The three occupations with the highest probability of automation are waiters and waitresses, shelf fillers and sales occupations, according to the report. Those at the lowest risk of automation were said to be medical practitioners, higher education teachers and senior education professionals.