Robots soon could replace nearly a third of workforce

Over the next 13 years, the rising tide of automation will force as many as 70 million workers in the United States to find another way to make money, a new study from the global consultancy McKinsey predicts.

That means nearly a third of the American workforce could face the need to pick up new skills or enter different fields in the near future, said the report's co-author Michael Chui, a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute who studies business and economics.

'We believe that everyone will need to do retraining over time,” he said.

The shift could displace people at every stage of their career, Chui said.

By 2030, the researchers estimated, the demand for office support workers in the United States will drop by 20 percent. That includes secretaries, paralegals and anyone in charge of administrative tasks.

During the same period, the need for people doing 'predictable physical work” - construction equipment installation and repair, dishwashing and food preparation, for example - will fall by 30 percent.

Other advanced economies, such as Germany and Japan, will see at least a third of their workforce similarly disrupted, the report concludes.

China's share will be smaller (12 percent) as more employers there will still find it cheaper to employ humans.

Caretakers, psychologists, artists, writers - anyone who relies on empathy or creativity at work - can expect to have the most job security as automation continues to spread, said Jason Hong, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.