UK’s poorest to fare worst in age of automation, thinktank warns

Machines threaten jobs generating 290bn in wages and could widen inequality gap, according to IPPR

The rise of the machine economy risks social disruption by widening the gap between rich and poor in Britain, as automation threatens jobs generating 290bn in wages.

Jobs accounting for a third of annual pay in the UK risk being automated, according to the study by the IPPR thinktank. Warning that low-paid roles are in the greatest danger, it urged ministers to head off the prospect of rising inequality by helping people retrain and share in the benefits from advances in technology.

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