• Broadening digital access is reshaping the world of work, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025.
• The fastest-growing jobs between now and the end of the decade include big data specialists, fintech engineers and AI and machine learning specialists.
• Other professions are declining quickly, including various clerical roles and administrative assistants.

More employers expect broadening digital access to affect their business than any other macro trend, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025.

This growing digital access is a vital enabler for new technologies that can transform labour markets. Three technologies in particular are set to have the biggest impact: robots and automation, energy generation and storage technology, and AI and information processing.

Together, their expansion is driving the rapid growth of certain professions.

The fastest-growing jobs

The report surveyed more than 1,000 companies around the world – representing 22 industry clusters and more than 14 million workers – to take the pulse of the job market and uncover how organizations expect it to evolve between now and 2030.

According to the surveyed executives, the three fastest-growing jobs in percentage terms are big data specialists, fintech engineers and AI and machine learning specialists. A huge 86% of respondents to the survey expected AI and information processing technologies to transform their business by 2030.

Image: World Economic Forum

Software and applications developers are fourth on the list, while technology trends and geopolitical factors have contributed to security management specialists appearing in the top five.

The green transition and the growing adoption of energy generation and storage technologies have placed roles such as autonomous and electric vehicle specialists and environmental and renewable energy engineers among the top 15 fastest-growing professions.

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Jobs declining as the labour market changes

The report says growing digital access is expected to create 19 million jobs by 2030 and replace 9 million. AI and data processing alone will create 11 million roles and replace 9 million.

Robots and automation, meanwhile, are forecast to displace 5 million more jobs than they create.

Businesses expect these trends to cause a sharp fall in roles, including various clerical roles, such as cashiers and ticket clerks, as well as administrative assistants, printing workers and accountants and auditors.

The report says 39% of workers’ key skills are expected to change by 2030 and technological skills are projected to grow in importance more rapidly than any others in the next five years.

As such, continuous learning, upskilling and reskilling programmes will be an ongoing priority for employers between now and the end of the decade.

Explore the full report here.

Have you read?

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  Future of Jobs Report 2025: The jobs of the future – and the skills you need to get them

   

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  Future of Jobs Report 2025: What’s shaping the future of the global workforce?