EDITORIAL: The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report 2025, published last week, offers key insights into how the global job market will transform over the next five years, driven by radical technological advancements, significant demographic changes, geopolitical tensions and the green transition necessitated by the escalating threat of climate change. Based on insights from over 1,000 global employers representing 14 million workers across 55 economies, the report analyses trends reshaping industries and the skills needed to navigate a rapidly evolving economic landscape.
Unsurprisingly, of the factors most impacting the future of work, expanding digital access is projected to be the most transformative. According to the report, around 60 percent of employers expect this shift to reshape their businesses by 2030, with key technological advancements, including artificial intelligence, information processing, robotics and automation, and energy generation, storage and distribution as the primary drivers.
The report finds the skills gap to be the greatest barrier to business transformation, with nearly 40 percent of job skills expected to change and 63 percent of employers identifying it as their main challenge. These trends will likely create a dual impact on employment, accelerating the growth of certain roles while hastening the decline of others. Notably, demand for skills in artificial intelligence and big data, network and cyber-security, and technological literacy is projected to experience the most rapid growth.
The increasing cost of living worldwide has been ranked as the second-most pivotal trend for job creation, as 50 percent of employers expect it to alter the contours of their business by 2030, while slower economic growth is also expected to displace 1.6 million jobs globally.
Equally significant is the growing impact of climate change on the global economy. As climate change-induced disasters become more frequent and severe, disrupting industries and economies on a global scale, this has inevitably led to climate change mitigation emerging as the third most transformative factor influencing the global job market over the next five years, driving demand for roles in renewable energy and environmental conservation.
Furthermore, as has been the trend in recent decades, ageing and declining working-age populations in high income countries combined with expanding working-age populations in lower income economies will continue to shape global labour markets, fuelling growth in areas like healthcare in the former while increasing demand for jobs in the education sector in the latter.
Another key factor influencing employment patterns is the rise of protectionist trade policies leading to increased geo-economic fragmentation, and along with escalating geopolitical tensions, will likely cause job market instability. Overall, these factors are expected to lead to the creation of around 170 million jobs globally by 2030, while there is also going to be a simultaneous culling of 92 million jobs, resulting in the net creation of 78 million jobs.
In the Pakistani context, the most daunting challenge faced by the job market here is the country’s poor literacy rate combined with rapid population growth, creating a significant skills gap and threatening its ability to keep up with advancements in various technologies. Additionally, as one of the nations is most vulnerable to climate change, Pakistan faces both challenges and opportunities in this regard.
While climate disasters routinely devastate livelihoods, there is also potential for job creation in climate change mitigation and adaptation sectors. Most importantly, the government must realise the value of fostering an environment conducive to innovation and the development of new technologies, moving away from the current system that often stifles creativity and progress.
In fact, governments worldwide will benefit from a focus on investment in human capital, and adeptly navigating challenges related to climate change, demographic shifts and changing geopolitical dynamics to ensure their workforces are ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of the future.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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