In 1840 fully 70% of American workers worked in agriculture. Today just 2% work in agriculture. What happened to food production in that time? Instead of feeding 17 million Americans in 1840, we feed 315 million Americans today and millions more around the world with our agricultural exports.
Look at manufacturing employment. It's been on a steady decline for decades, yet our output keeps going up.
Technology will allow us to continue to use machines to make processes more efficient, productive and make their output more affordable. There's no reason why this won't happen in your local fast food restaurant if labor costs increase too much. I wouldn't be surprised to see employment drop 50% - 70% if wages go up to $15/hr. There will be jobs created for people who can build, install and maintain the machines but they probably won't be filled by unskilled burger flippers and change makers.
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