Why I Keep Returning to Jobs
I have been writing about jobs for more than a decade. Early on I argued that simply hoping industry or government will magically "create" millions of formal jobs is wishful thinking; better to design incentives and systems that make work possible, valuable and scalable.How to Create Jobs?
Today the conversation looks different — not because the goal changed, but because the forces reshaping work have accelerated. Generative AI, platform work, demographic shifts and the urgency of a green transition force us to rethink what "job creation" really means.
The old question, with new answers
Traditional job-creation thinking asks: how many positions can I add through investment or public hiring? That question assumes jobs are stable, location-bound and created upstream by big actors. The reality I see is messier:
- Automation and AI change tasks faster than institutions adjust.
- The platform/gig economy decentralises access but often erodes job quality.
- Demographic and regional disparities mean a one-size policy rarely works.
Major reviews — from the OECD to the ILO — now emphasise place-based strategies, AI's dual role as productivity booster and displacer, and the need for reskilling at scale (OECD Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2024). That matches what I've argued in earlier posts: incentives and systems matter more than slogans about "creating jobs."How to Create Jobs?
Three mistakes we keep making
- Measuring success by headcount alone
- Counting only jobs ignores quality, earnings, stability and whether people can build a career. A million low-pay, unpaid-or-underpaid gigs is not economic progress.
- Assuming centralised actors will do the heavy lifting
- Big investments matter, but smaller, labour‑intensive enterprises and local entrepreneurship often create more accessible opportunities. Policy should enable them rather than try to replace them.
- Treating technology as an externality
- AI and automation won't disappear. We must treat technology as a tool to complement human work, amplify productivity and open new roles — not merely as a threat to be resisted.
What rethinking looks like — practical pivots
- Incentives for meaningful hiring, not just headcount
- Design tax credits, procurement rules and credit programs tied to job quality metrics: wages, training hours, and progression pathways. Years ago I proposed employment-linked tax incentives as a way to align private incentives with social goals.How to Create Jobs?
- Treat entrepreneurship as distributed job creation
- Encourage micro‑firms and neighbourhood-level enterprises through easy credit, shared infrastructure (makerspaces, logistics hubs), and simplified compliance. Many people seek self-employment when formal jobs are scarce — our role is to make those paths dignified and scalable.
- Invest in “task-resilience” not just narrow skills
- The skill premium is shifting toward adaptability: critical thinking, human-centred services, systems understanding and the ability to work with AI tools. Training programs should be modular, local and employer‑partnered so skills map to real opportunities.
- Localise economic development
- Regions have distinct strengths. Place-based policies — improving local transport, childcare, broadband and vocational ecosystems — make employers more likely to invest and workers more likely to stay and prosper. The OECD highlights this geography of opportunity as central to modern job strategy.OECD Job Creation and Local Economic Development 2024
- Use public procurement as a lever
- Governments buy lots of services. Tie procurement to inclusive hiring, apprenticeship quotas, and social-enterprise partnerships. This generates demand and standards simultaneously.
A short blueprint for policymakers and builders
- Redefine targets: measure decent employment (earnings, security, training) rather than raw jobs.
- Make hiring incentives conditional on career outcomes (e.g., retention + training milestones).
- Scale local entrepreneurship with micro‑infrastructure and low-friction finance.
- Fund modular reskilling programs co‑designed with employers and local institutions.
- Create transparency rules for platform work and algorithmic management to protect worker dignity.
A final thought — resilience beats prediction
We cannot perfectly forecast which specific jobs AI or green investments will create. But we can design resilient systems: flexible skilling, strong local ecosystems, incentives for quality hiring and governance that protects workers in new arrangements. My earlier instinct — that we should enable creation rather than attempt to command it — remains true. The difference now is urgency: the tools and dislocations are arriving faster, and the choices we make today will determine whether technology becomes an engine of inclusive prosperity or a driver of inequality.
If you ask me whether jobs are disappearing or being created, my answer is simple: both. The meaningful question is whether the new jobs will offer dignity, growth and stability. That is what our policies, communities and entrepreneurs must be judged by.
Regards,
Hemen Parekh
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