BC Business
Plus, what will happen in the gig economy in 2017 and why Trump will fail to increase manufacturing jobs
Male-dominated jobs in heavy industry are disappearing in the U.S. Above, a melter operator faces flames and intense heat as he shovels slag out of a furnace crucible
Disappearing U.S. jobs, like machine operator, locomotive firer and vehicle electronics installer are mostly done by men. The occupations that are growing, like health aide, employ mostly women. More than a fifth of American men aren’t working, yet they aren’t flocking to service-sector jobs. Experts suggest that much of that resistance comes from a culture of masculinity. (The New York Times)
The gig economy has been on the rise for several years, and many reports point to a continued trend in American workers taking on both side gigs and cobbling together a living from a hodgepodge of short-term work or longer-term contracted jobs. Artificial intelligence, automation and virtual reality are just a few of the forces that will impact the way we work in the future. A variety of experts told Fast Company what they thought would happen to gigging in 2017.
Donald Trump’s tweets on the car industry (and his planned cuts to corporate income tax) may or may not have persuaded Ford to keep a plant in Michigan, creating 700 jobs. But the problem with such headline-grabbing tactics is that there are thousands of companies in America, and jobs are being created or destroyed every day; intervening in all these situations is impossible. Even in the automotive industry, for example, GM has recently announced 3,300 lay-offs, almost five times greater than the Ford additions. History suggests that the aim of creating large numbers of manufacturing jobs will be a lost cause. (The Economist)