The world of work is changing before our eyes. Innovations in technology over the last decade have fundamentally transformed how companies and workers interact. Businesses are increasingly leveraging on-demand talent in an effort to stay competitive and financially flexible. Workers, in turn, are relying on specialized skill sets to pursue the flexibility of an independent career.
In a newly released McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) report, “A labor market that works: Connecting talent with opportunity in the digital age,” several McKinsey consultants discuss the current state of employment and explore how online talent platforms are disrupting global labor markets.
Here are 9 incredible stats from the MGI report that I thought were worth sharing:
- By 2025, online talent platforms could add $2.7 trillion, or nearly 2 percent, to global GDP.
- It’s projected that 10 percent of the global labor force, or 540 million people could benefit in various ways from online talent platforms by 2025.
- Of those 540 million people, as many as 230 million could find new jobs more quickly, reducing the duration of unemployment…
- 200 million people who are inactive or employed part-time could work additional hours through freelance platforms…
- 60 million people could find work that more closely suits their skills or preferences, and….
- 50 million could shift from informal to formal employment.
- Online talent platforms can help boost transparency in global labor markets, allowing more effective spending on tertiary education which could reduce some of the $89 billion of misallocation in Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- Online talent platforms can increase a company’s output by up to 9 percent and lower costs related to talent and human resources by up to 7 percent.
- Spending on labor market programs could be lowered by as much as 9 percent—or $18 billion annually—as online talent platforms cut the length of time people are out of work.
Any which way you slice it, these numbers are staggering. Online talent platforms have the potential to combat widespread unemployment, drive the global economy and essentially revolutionize the world labor market.
“Online talent platforms show real promise for injecting more transparency and dynamism into job markets,” the consultants write. “As people come to connect with work opportunities more efficiently, even larger economic ripple effects could abound in the years ahead. With the right investment, a thoughtful approach, and continued innovation from the private sector, the world could move closer to the goal of a labor market that works.”
