How technology eliminates jobs

You can't argue that technology has changed the world dramatically. From the industrial revolution to the widespread reach of the Internet, technology has changed how just about everything is done. Although technology has proven beneficial in many ways, technological advancements have proven costly as well.

Automation and technology has made humans expendable in many professional arenas. Couple that with the current economic downturn and the National Employment Law Project says that there is a deficit in good jobs, or the high- to medium-paying ones. Low-wage occupations saw job growth of 3.2 percent from the beginning of 2010 to the beginning of 2011, while mid-wage jobs only grew by 1.2 percent, according to NELP.

Technology often reduces costs after the initial investment is made, eventually helping to produce commodities or provide services at a reduced rate. Labor costs money, and reducing the labor involved and speeding up production increases profits -- something that benefits a business' bottom line.

There are a number of jobs that have been eliminated by technology, and more face a similar fate.

Labor-displacing technology

Any technology that enables an untrained individual to perform a specific service will remove jobs. Self-scanning checkout lines at a supermarket and automatic teller machines are examples. Automated kiosks and even car toll lines that scan a device instead of requiring interaction with a booth employee are other instances of labor-displacing technology. In a late 2010 Los Angeles Times interview, "about 70 percent of travelers said they were ready to use self-serve devices to board planes, check bags, change flights, rent cars, and book hotel rooms, according to a recent survey of nearly 2,500 airline passengers."

Automation

Automation has helped eliminate millions of jobs in many industries. Estimates suggest that 35 million jobs have been lost to automation in the last decade. Robots have assumed the roles of employees in auto manufacturing plants. One robot may be able to work 24 hours a day, replacing four humans. Computers and robots have also eliminated many of the workers in production lines because they may be able to do the job faster and more efficiently.

Farming

Automatic crop pickers, fertilizers and tillers have replaced manual workers in fields. These machines can accomplish most of the tasks typically performed by a person. They can also be programmed to sense when crops should be planted and picked. Cows have long been milked by machines rather than people, and technology has helped genetic engineering evolve, making livestock and crops less susceptible to illness.

Telephone Operators

"For customer service, press 0 ..." People have grown accustomed to hearing an automated voice on the end of the phone whenever calling a company's phone number. Automated response systems that require callers to push a digit to bring on a new menu of options have replaced receptionists and operators at many companies, reducing customer service staffs considerably.

Sales Professionals

With the advent of online shopping, many industries have taken a serious hit. Travel sites have virtually eliminated brick-and-mortar travel agencies. Bookstores are facing financial ruin from e-reader devices and the ability to order paper books online. Today people are using sites to shop for groceries, furnish a home and a host of other tasks that once required visiting a store. The convenience of the Internet offers fast research on the pricing of different items, doesn't require consumers to leave the house, and allows shipping directly to the house. Each of these things are compelling reasons to shop online. But everyone from cashiers to stock personnel could be paying the price.

The Great Recession has permanently removed 7.9 million jobs from the worldwide economy, and technology continues to remove many others. Individuals seeking jobs have even more difficult hurdles in the years to come. 

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