Do we need humans for that job? What about Automation? Those are questions a lot of businesses are asking right now.
Service sector jobs once considered safe are no longer. In Dallas, a restaurant/bakery is now using robots to deliver food and drinks to tables, and it even talks.
As crazy as it sounds, business owners are thinking about all their options in light of the pandemic.
“The U.S. economy has been moving in that way since we began with automation more than a hundred years ago,” University of Houston Economist Ed Hirs said. “Every dollar you save on labor is something we can offset with capital. It’s a trade.”
Hirs also believes some workers are waiting, to see where they fit in a post-pandemic job market. Supply chain interruptions have made it difficult for some to return to their old job. The U.S. Labor Department says there are almost 11 million job openings nationwide, but lots of them remain unfilled.
“Part of it’s a shift. Part of it is the population really coming to terms with trying to get back to work and not really being sure about how to go about doing it,” he explained.
Hirs says it remains to be seen if the recent expiration of government COVID handouts will lead to more Americans looking for work.