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The technical potential for automation in the US

Many types of activities in industry sectors have


the technical potential to be automated, but that
potential varies significantly across activities.
Managing
others
Overall
average

Stakeholder
interactions

Applying
expertise1

9%

18%

20%

Unpredictable
physical work2

Technical feasibility: % of time spent on


activities that can be automated by adapting
currently demonstrated technology
0

Data
collection

25%

64%

50

100

Data
processing

Predictable
physical work2

69%

78%

Sectors3

22

10

48

Manufacturing
5

13

22

11

33

Agriculture
7

51

11

13

Transportation
and warehousing
14

14

22

26

15

14

24

Retail trade
3

28

17

MORE AUTOMATABLE INDUSTRIES

Accommodations
and food service

Mining
7

11

24

21

12

17

13

15

12

17

Other services
11

25

Construction
5

10

41

15

13

19

23

11

17

11

10

13

12

Utilities
7

14

12

Wholesale trade
24

19

12

Finance and
insurance
Arts,
entertainment,
and recreation

19

23

<1

16

10

13

24

12

21

19

16

17

13

14

23

21

13

10

14

14

25

15

13

34

11

14

Real estate
Administrative

11

20

13

21

Information
20

16

16

16

20

Professional
7

27

19

23

Management
10

Educational
services

22

25

29

10

17

LESS AUTOMATABLE ACTIVITIES

13

24

10

MORE AUTOMATABLE ACTIVITIES

In practice, automation will depend on more than just technical feasibility. Five factors are involved: technical feasibility; costs to
automate; the relative scarcity, skills, and cost of workers who might otherwise do the activity; benefits (eg, superior performance)
of automation beyond labor-cost substitution; and regulatory and social-acceptance considerations.
Applying expertise to decision making, planning,
and creative tasks.
2
Unpredictable physical work (physical activities
and the operation of machinery) is performed in
unpredictable environments, while in predictable
physical work, the environments are predictable.
1

Agriculture
hunting; other services excludes federal-, state-,
and local-government services; real estate
includes rental and leasing; administrative
includes administrative support and government
administration; healthcare and social

assistance includes private, state-government,


and local-government hospitals; professional
includes
educational services includes private, stategovernment, and local-government schools.

LESS AUTOMATABLE INDUSTRIES

Healthcare and
social assistance

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