Help wanted: The future of work in advanced economies

Some 40 million workers across advanced economies are unemployed. With many nations still facing weak demand – and the risk of renewed recession – hiring has been restrained. Yet there are also long-range forces at play that will make it more difficult for advanced economies to return to pre-recession levels of employment in the years to come. As a result, the current disequilibrium in many national labor markets will not be solved solely with measures that worked well in decades past. To help develop appropriate new responses, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) examines five trends that are influencing employment levels and shaping how work is done and jobs are created.