Signal CEDEFOP forecasts negative EU27 employment growth for clerical, trades and manufacturing workers to 2035

Summary

This signal draws on a European forecast showing some manufacturing-related jobs shrinking even as industries grow. The European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, CEDEFOP, projects employment across the EU27 for 2022 to 2035. It predicts negative growth for clerical workers, trades workers and manufacturing workers, despite expansion in their sectors and rising worker productivity. The report reads this as automation pushing low-skill workers out of the secondary sector while making the remaining high-skill workers more productive. Because AI drives further automation and higher skill requirements in mature industries such as manufacturing and construction, it expects continued labour disruption in these fields.