The overall active job openings-to-applicants ratio has been at its highest level since 1974, while the ratio for full-time workers specifically was the highest recorded since that survey began, in November 2004 (Chart 5). Against this backdrop, labor-saving investment has increased in a wide range of industries with a view to, for example, using artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and other means.
As the use of AI and RPA increases, the displacement effect caused by the labor positions of humans being taken over by robots and machines will be an issue of concern.