A private-equity manager who asked not to be identified said he decided to invest in robot manufacturers after touring recently automated electronics plants in the eastern province of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. He found robots there were being used not only for dangerous jobs and simple tasks, but also to handle complicated chores that otherwise require workers with special skills.
“At first, robots replaced workers who had jobs that exposed them to pollution, such as painting, or required that they repeat the same task,” the equity manager said. “But gradually, robots have been used for trades requiring skilled workers, such as welders, because they are cost-effective.”
Yet some companies have automated their factories simply because they cannot find enough people. A mid-level manager at an electronic manufacturer said that many businesses that are unable to fill positions have had no choice but to install robots.
“Workers quit every day,” he said. “Physically challenging jobs under harsh conditions or jobs requiring repetitive processes are much less attractive to young workers than the older generation.”
http://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/china%E2%80%99s-factories-are-building-a-robot-nation/ar-AA9xhZl?ocid=U146CDHP
Now THAT's perplexing. One would think China has LOTS of workers, but apparently they don't want the jobs being offered.
If these jobs existed in the US, would we be able to fill them? After all, we've got 93 million people not in the labor force. Are we to believe that none of them want to work, or that they could not be trained to do the jobs that robots are taking over?
I think the real question is not "how do we find jobs for the unemployed" ... but "how the heck will they ever be able to support themselves?" We (or rather our corporate overlords) are building a world which does not need them.
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