As the UK economy becomes increasingly automated there are fears that the workforce in the North and Midlands will be adversely damaged, and these areas had a large percentage of Brexit voters.
It is thought this will widen the north-south divide in the lead up to 2030. A total of 3.6m UK jobs could be replaced by machines.
Of the top ten Mansfield, Sunderland and Wakefield are at the highest risk of having their jobs taken by machines. It it thought that low skilled jobs would be carried out by machines, and these areas have a large base of lower skilled workers.
The Centre for Cities report suggests more affluent cities in the south are in better shape to cope with automation around 13% of jobs in Oxford and Cambridge are in at-risk occupations.
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: “In an ever more divided country, it’s increasingly clear that a one-size-fits-all approach from central government is inadequate to address the myriad issues that different places face.”
Cities with highest Percent share of jobs in occupations likely to shrink by 2030 and voted for Brexit
%Job loss %voted Brexit
Mansfield 29% 70%
Sunderland 29% 61%
Wakefield 29% 66%
Stoke 28% 67%
Doncaster 27% 69%
Blackburn 26% 56%
Northampton 26% 58%
Dundee 25% 40%
Huddersfield 25% 55%
Telford 25% 63%
UK average 21% 52%