Structural shifts in technology, climate challenges from ageing and shrinking working-age populations, and low- and middle-income countries are witnessing significant growth in policies, and demographics are set to transform nearly 22 per cent of global employment by 2030, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest Future of Jobs Report 2025.  

At a global level, macrotrends are projected to create 170 million new jobs while displacing 92 million existing roles. This structural churn will result in a net employment increase of 7 per cent, translating to 78 million additional jobs worldwide by 2030.

To conduct the study, the WEF consolidated insights from over 1,000 global employers managing more than 14 million workers across 55 economies, highlighting a highly divergent but net-positive employment outlook over the next five years.

The stark demographic divide among the world's major economies will emerge as a key trend over the next five years. Also, the rich countries are facing a challenge from ageing and shrinking working-age populations, while the low- and middle-income countries are witnessing a significant growth of their youthful workforce. India, like countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, is at the leading edge of this demographic dividend. The geographies that will see this growth are expected to contribute almost two-thirds of the workforce entrants in the next few years. This is a clear indication of the need for job creation and mass talent cultivation at home.

As per the study, global employers with a growing working-age population are responding with a strong focus on human capital: 92 per cent of the employers surveyed who are impacted by an expanding working-age population intend to focus on comprehensive reskilling and upskilling efforts by 2030. Technical and Green roles are the ones that are creating jobs. Technical and Green roles are the ones that are creating jobs.  

Digital access, artificial intelligence (AI) and the green energy transition are transforming the international jobs market. The fastest growth in percentage terms is in technology-related fields, led by Big Data Specialists, FinTech Engineers, AI and Machine Learning Specialists.AI and Machine Learning Specialists.

At the same time, the demand for sustainability professionals is growing rapidly due to international climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives. Environmental Engineers and Renewable Energy Engineers are two of the 15 fastest-growing occupations in the world. The greatest net gains will be in frontline and foundational roles in absolute numbers. Absolute growth in employment will be driven by farmworkers, delivery drivers, construction workers, and salespeople, all of whom are expected to see growth due to climate trends and growing consumer markets. The care economy is also growing worldwide, and there is substantial absolute growth in the number of nursing professionals and personal care aides in high-income countries, as a result of the ageing of the population.

On the other hand, administrative and manual jobs are being significantly affected by automation and digital transformation. The job losses are most pronounced in traditional clerical roles. The jobs expected to experience the highest structural displacement by 2030 are postal service clerks, bank tellers, data entry clerks, and cashiers. Notably, for the first time, roles such as graphic designers and legal secretaries have joined the net-decline list, indicating that generative AI (GenAI) is now actively taking over parts of knowledge work.

As per the report, by 2030, 39 per cent of the core skills required for workers' occupations will be disrupted or outdated. This represents a high degree of skill instability, but it has slowed from 44 per cent in 2023. Proactive training is largely responsible for this positive stabilisation, as 50 per cent of the global workforce has now undergone some upskilling or reskilling activity, compared with 41 per cent two years ago. Analytical thinking is still the most critical core competency desired by today's employers, with 69 per cent of employers considering it a minimum requirement. Resilience, flexibility and agility are closely followed by leadership and social influence.

International corporate operations are being significantly restructured due to growing geopolitical divisions, trade restrictions and domestic industrial policies. Some 34 per cent of employers worldwide say geopolitical conflicts will change their business model in the next five years. These geoeconomic tensions are changing the migration of talent and manufacturing. Increasingly, organisations that are subject to trade restrictions are shifting away from traditional offshoring models. According to the survey, companies affected by global trade and investment barriers are 50 per cent more likely to start reshoring or nearshoring initiatives than the global average, bringing key operational elements back to their home countries to protect supply chains.

The study showed that skill gaps are categorically the single biggest challenge to successful business transformation, with 63 per cent of employers saying it was a critical bottleneck, and 85 per cent of global organisations actively planning to focus on workforce upskilling as their top operational strategy to close the skills gap between fewer and more jobs.