Aging and Automation

The “under-appreciated” workforce — experienced workers with long tenures at their companies, aged 50 and above — are estimated to have contributed $7.6 trillion to U.S. economic activity in 2015, set to jump to over $13.5 trillion by 2032, according to new report by Mercer and Oliver Wyman with Marsh & McLennan Advantage on aging and automation. Yet, those employees also face the threat of having their work replaced by machines, with older workers in the U.S. doing jobs that are on average 52% automatable. However, a rapidly aging population and falling birthrate means retraining this workforce is vital for the success of many companies, argues the report