As employers across the United States seek ways to fill the labor gap, many people are increasingly turning to automation and robotics for help. Although the shift to automation is not a new phenomenon, it has become a good medicine for enterprises to meet their needs under the recent tight labor market. According to the data of the Association for promoting automation, in the first quarter of this year, the orders for robots in the United States increased by 40%, exceeding the 21% increase in the whole year of 2021, pushing the valuation of the industry to $1.6 billion.
"People want to reduce the labor force," said David zapico, CEO of automation equipment manufacturer AMETEK, noting that the company has been "at full power" to meet demand.
Robots at least provide a temporary solution for enterprises. In the most tense job market since World War II, enterprises are facing difficulties in recruitment due to the epidemic, record turnover rate and huge economic turmoil.
In March this year, the number of job vacancies in the United States reached a record 11.5 million. Some experts predict that the labor crisis may last for several years. Supply shortages have had a major impact on everything from air travel to retail, as companies are forced to reduce production with fewer resources.
However, advanced technology is enabling machines to help more and more industrial sectors, while also becoming more accessible.
"Robots are becoming more and more easy to use. Companies used to think that automation was too difficult or expensive to implement," said Michael Chico, CEO of FANUC USA, a supplier of industrial robots
However, with the increasing use of robots, some people expressed concern that robots would replace human workers as the labor crisis finally eased.
Daron Acemoglu, a professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of technology, said: "if automation develops very fast, it will destroy a lot of jobs. The labor shortage will not continue. This is temporary."