The potential threat of automation to jobs has been explored in great depth in recent years, with numerous studies exploring the risk posed to particular demographics.  The latest, from UCLA, explores the threat posed to the Latino community in the United States.

The study suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is accelerating the automation of jobs in the service sector, with this disproportionately affecting Latino workers.  The authors urge more government action to help retrain these workers so they can adapt.

The researchers examined occupational data from across six states and found a significant overrepresentation of Latinos in industries such as leisure and hospitality, construction, agriculture, and retail, which the researchers believe are particularly vulnerable to automation.

At risk

In total, they believe over 7.1 million people, or roughly 40% of the entire Latino workforce in those six states, are at high risk of having their work displaced by technology.

“As Latinos take a disproportionate financial hit from the COVID-19 crisis, now is a good time to focus on increasing training opportunities and to strengthen the social safety net to catch workers who are left behind,” the researchers explain.

The researchers highlight the huge number of jobs that have been lost during the pandemic, and the dire state of many industries is prompting companies to look to automation to cut back on costs as they emerge out the other side.  As such, they warn that as the economy recovers, jobs may not return.

The authors believe that those displaced workers need to be supported to help them retrain for sectors where jobs are likely to grow, such as in the digital economy.  The Latino community are the youngest demographic group in the US, with a median age of 30, versus 35 for African Americans, 38 for Asians, and 44 for whites, which suggests that they will be a valuable labor resource in what is an aging society and a shrinking labor force.

“In the face of COVID-19, global warming and economic chaos, Latinos are critical to America’s recovery,” the researchers say. “Policymakers need to strengthen pathways to opportunity that are centered on workers of color or risk further financial ruin.”

Improving prospects

The report makes the following policy recommendations to begin preparing the Latino workforce for a digitalized future:

• Modernize unemployment insurance programs to expand eligibility and provide worker retraining assistance.
• Create apprenticeship programs that provide career pathways for digitally oriented jobs and create a pipeline to employers.
• Invest in broadband access and programs that connect Latinos with digital technologies.
• Increase Latino enrollment in and graduation from higher education institutions and increase access to social-safety services such as housing, food and health care.

The report will be used as a baseline for discussion at a convening of policymakers, industry leaders, higher education administrators and training organizations organized by the Aspen Institute’s Latinos and Society Program in October 2020.

“Data is critical as policymakers work with the private sector to ensure that Latinos have access to the training and education opportunities necessary to drive our economy in the digital age,” the researchers conclude.