https://www.businessinsider.com/rob...-employers-seek-relief-labor-shortage-2022-5#
Robot orders increase 40% in first quarter as desperate employers seek relief from labor shortages, report says
Robots are providing at least a temporary solution for businesses confronted by difficulty hiring in the tightest job market since World War II, marred by the pandemic, record-high quitting rates, and vast economic turmoil.
Advanced technology, however, is allowing machines to assist a growing number of industry sectors, while at the same time becoming more accessible.
"The robots are becoming easier to use," Michael Cicco, chief executive officer of industrial robot provider Fanuc America, told the Wall Street Journal. "Companies used to think that automation was too hard or too expensive to implement."
But as robot usage climbs, some have expressed concern about the machines displacing human workers as the labor crisis eventually eases.
"Automation, if it goes very fast, can destroy a lot of jobs," Daron Acemoglu, an economics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Journal. "The labor shortage is not going to last. This is temporary."
Robot orders increase 40% in first quarter as desperate employers seek relief from labor shortages, report says
- Robot orders increased 40% in the first quarter of 2022, as businesses seek solutions to the labor crisis.
- The robot industry is now valued at $1.6 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Automation may provide a temporary salve, but some are concerned it will displace human workers as the shortage eases.
Robots are providing at least a temporary solution for businesses confronted by difficulty hiring in the tightest job market since World War II, marred by the pandemic, record-high quitting rates, and vast economic turmoil.
Advanced technology, however, is allowing machines to assist a growing number of industry sectors, while at the same time becoming more accessible.
"The robots are becoming easier to use," Michael Cicco, chief executive officer of industrial robot provider Fanuc America, told the Wall Street Journal. "Companies used to think that automation was too hard or too expensive to implement."
But as robot usage climbs, some have expressed concern about the machines displacing human workers as the labor crisis eventually eases.
"Automation, if it goes very fast, can destroy a lot of jobs," Daron Acemoglu, an economics professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, told the Journal. "The labor shortage is not going to last. This is temporary."
