The transformation of global jobs by artificial intelligence and the rising pressure of geoeconomic volatility will top the agenda at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos.
Long-established professional roles are being fundamentally reshaped by frontier technologies, including robotics and automation, creating a landscape where uncertainty has become the primary challenge for business strategy.
According to the Forum, this technological shift is colliding with a “turbulent environment” defined by talent shortages, economic volatility, rising government interventionism and geopolitical instability.
Digitised order and geotech spheres
To navigate this uncertainty, the organisation has released Four Futures for the New Economy, which outlines potential global scenarios ranging from a “digitalised order” — where stabilised geopolitics boost growth — to “geotech spheres”, where trade is restricted to allies and talent shortages intensify.
Specific to the workforce, a new analysis titled Four Futures for Jobs in the New Economy warns of equally divergent outcomes.
These range from “supercharged progress” — where AI boosts productivity and innovation — to an “age of displacement” characterised by rapid automation outpacing reskilling, potentially leading to unemployment and social division.
Alternative scenarios include a “co-pilot economy”, where incremental AI growth enhances human expertise, or “stalled progress”, where lagging workforce readiness leads to uneven productivity gains.
The data reveals a widening disconnect in the global labour market. While wages for AI-specific roles have risen by 27 per cent since 2019, businesses continue to struggle with recruitment as workers fail to acquire technical skills at the required pace.
Simultaneously, “human-centric” capabilities such as creativity, innovation and adaptability are becoming increasingly critical for employers but remain difficult to measure in the standard job market.
Reskilling millions of workers
To address this widening gap, the Forum announced that more than 25 leading technology companies have pledged to support the reskilling of 20 million workers by 2030, focusing on digital technologies and clear employment pathways.
The meeting will also see the launch of new national skills accelerators in India and Jordan, joining a global network of 45 accelerators that have already reached 17.8 million individuals.
Further initiatives include the launch of global principles for the platform-enabled economy by nine leading companies, focusing on access, earnings and safe working environments.
In a move to link education more closely with employment, the Forum is also introducing a “Learning-to-Earning Sandbox” to co-design models that integrate degrees with paid work, such as apprenticeships and micro-credentials.
