AUTOMATION, GLOBAL LABOR MARKET, AND OUTPUT: DO PRODUCTIVITY-IMPROVING TECHNOLOGIES RAISE OVERALL WORK DEMAND?

We follow recent research (e.g. Spencer, 2018) showing that, enabled by technology, employment platforms have enabled capitalist employers to subcontract labor at decreased expense than if they carried it out internally. Work has been organized that circumvents current labor regulations and social protections. Using the data from CaixaBank Research (based on data from Innosight and David Deming), Current Population Survey, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, GSV Advisors, U.S. Labor Department, and The Wall Street Journal, we performed analyses and made estimates regarding job trends (routine vs. non-routine, cognitive vs. manual), U.S. venture-capital and growth investments in education (capital flows, $bn, and number of transactions), U.S. productivity and jobs (1955-2018), and the trend in the tasks demanded for U.S. jobs (change compared with 1980, %). Empirical and secondary data are employed to support the claim that capitalist employers, by filling positions beyond the bounds and without any official employment contract, are likely to neglect their moral duties towards personnel. The likelihood of their growth may in addition disintegrate the quality of labor open to employees. The cutting-edge technology has been coupled with substandard labor market practices. The pursuit of a more considerate work setting that reinforces lengthy free time while furthering more substantially rewarding work necessitates alterations in partnership that transfer power to employees over the utilization of technology.