written by The year 2025 brings new concerns and questions for employees regarding salaries, legislative changes, new employer requirements, and potential shifts in remote work schedules. The job market is fluctuating and unpredictable, and we are all curious about what will happen to our professional future.
The Future of Jobs in 2025 represents a collection of data and insights provided by the World Economic Forum, gathered from a survey conducted on a sample of over 1,000 employers worldwide. Trends, skills, and workforce transformation strategies that employers plan to adopt for the 2025-2030 period have been analyzed.
According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), changes will occur at an accelerated pace this year, with the speed at which generative intelligence reshapes industries and tasks across various sectors being a primary concern. Besides technological changes, demographic and economic transformations are also expected to influence the job market through 2030.
Based on respondents’ predictions from the survey, structural transformations in the job market will result in a 22% modification of current jobs. An estimated 170 million jobs will be created, equivalent to 14% of the current active workforce. However, this growth will be offset by the loss of 8% (or 92 million) of existing jobs, leading to a net increase of 7%, or 78 million jobs overall.
Future Labor Market Trends
1.Technological Progress- 60% of employers anticipate that rapid technological development will transform their operations by 2030. Advances in technology, particularly in artificial intelligence and information processing (86%), robotics and automation (58%), and energy generation, storage, and distribution (41%), are also considered transformative, according to WEF. The trend of job digitalization will undoubtedly play a significant role in the labor market, increasing demand for employees with technology-related skills such as artificial intelligence, Big Data, networking and cybersecurity, and technological literacy—identified as the top three fastest-growing skills.
2.Rising Cost of Living- this is the second most transformative trend and the leading economic-related trend, specifically global inflation. Inflation is expected to have a mixed impact on job creation through 2030, as slower economic growth will result in the loss of 1.6 million jobs globally. These effects will increase demand for skills such as creative thinking, resilience, flexibility, and agility among employees.
3.Climate Change and Adaptation- 41% of employers expect this trend to drive growth in roles such as renewable energy specialists, environmental engineers, and electric and autonomous vehicle specialists, all of which are among the 15 fastest-growing job categories. Additionally, climate-related trends are increasing the focus on environmental protection responsibility, which has entered the list of the top 10 fastest-evolving skills for the first time in WEF’s report.
4.Global Demographic Changes- the survey indicates an aging and declining working-age population with high incomes over the next five years. These trends are increasing demand for skills related to talent management, teaching and mentoring, as well as motivation and self-awareness. Aging populations are also driving job growth in healthcare, such as nursing, and increasing demand for education-related professions, such as higher education instructors.
5.Geoeconomic Fragmentation and Geopolitical Tensions- these are expected to transform business models in one-third (34%) of surveyed organizations over the next five years, according to WEF. Over one-fifth (23%) of global employers identify increased trade and investment restrictions, as well as industrial policies and subsidies (21%), as factors influencing their operations. Nearly all economies where respondents believe these trends will be the most transformative have significant trade relations with the United States and/or China. These trends increase demand for roles related to security and skills such as cybersecurity, resilience, flexibility, agility, leadership, and social influence.
Jobs on the Rise or in Decline
The fastest-growing job categories include agricultural workers, delivery personnel, construction workers, salespeople, and food processing workers. Additionally, healthcare-related jobs such as nursing, counseling, and personal assistants will see significant growth over the next five years, alongside education roles like tertiary and secondary school teachers.
Technology-related jobs are experiencing the fastest percentage growth, including Big Data specialists, Fintech engineers, AI specialists, and software and application developers. Green and energy technology jobs, such as specialists in autonomous and electric vehicles, environmental engineers, and renewable energy engineers, are also among the fastest-growing roles.
Conversely, a decline is expected in secretarial roles, including cashiers, counter clerks, and administrative assistants. Among the fastest-declining jobs are postal workers, bank clerks, and data entry operators.
It is estimated that 39% of current workforce skills will be transformed or become obsolete between 2025 and 2030. However, the trend of skill instability has diminished compared to previous editions of the World Economic Forum report. This reduction may be attributed to a higher proportion of employees (50%) who have completed training, reskilling, or upskilling programs.
Essential Skills and Barriers for the Future
Analytical thinking remains the most sought-after skill, considered essential by 7 out of 10 companies. Skills such as resilience, flexibility, and agility, along with leadership and social influence, are also priorities. The fastest-growing skills include AI and Big Data, networking and cybersecurity, and technological literacy.
Manual dexterity, physical endurance, and precision will decline in importance, with 24% of respondents predicting a drop in their relevance. Regarding workforce reskilling and upskilling, 59% of the global workforce is expected to require training by 2030.
Among them:
Skill gaps are considered the biggest barrier to business transformation, with 63% of employers identifying them as a major challenge.
85% of employers plan to prioritize workforce upskilling.
70% plan to hire personnel with new skills.
40% anticipate workforce reductions due to skill irrelevance.
50% intend to transition employees from declining roles to growing roles.
Workforce Strategies and AI Adoption
According to the Future of Jobs survey, 86% of employers expect AI and information processing technologies to transform their businesses by 2030. In sectors such as financial services (97%) and electronics (95%), the anticipated exposure to AI is significantly higher than the global average. Conversely, employers in sectors like energy technology and utilities (72%) and government and public sectors (76%) foresee lower exposure to AI-driven transformations by 2030.
Larger organizations are more likely to consider AI-driven business model transformation: only 6% of companies with over 50,000 employees estimate low exposure to AI by 2030, compared to 16% of companies with fewer than 1,000 employees and 15% of those with 1,000-5,000 employees.
These findings highlight a persistent skills gap necessary for AI adoption, affecting both managers and employees.
Romania in the Next Five Years
Expanded digital access, rising living costs, and increasing geoeconomic fragmentation are the three key factors shaping Romania’s labor market from 2025 to 2030. One in three Romanian companies also cites stricter competition regulations and legislation as factors influencing their business models over the next five years—almost double the global average.
76% of Romanian companies identify skill gaps in the labor market as a key barrier to transformation, along with challenges related to attracting talent to industries.
Strategies to Address Challenges
To tackle these challenges:
94% of employers plan to invest in workforce upskilling, exceeding the global average (85%).
79% plan to hire personnel with new skills.
68% intend to accelerate automation over the next five years.
The Romanian job market is undergoing profound transformations, and companies must adapt to remain competitive.
