A3 white paper links increasing robotics shipments to U.S. job growth

The Association for Advancing Automation (A3), Ann Arbor, Mich., has published a white paper entitled “Robots Fuel the Next Wave of U.S. Productivity and Job Growth” in which data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and a variety of manufacturing firms document how and why increasing the use of robots is associated with increased employment.

Key statistics from the white paper show that during the nonrecessionary periods of 1996-2000, 2002-2007, and 2010-2014, general employment and robot shipments both increased. Since 2010 the robotics industry in the U.S. has grown substantially. Even during this period of record-breaking robot sales, U.S. employment increased. This new data is in stark contrast to media coverage and a perception that increasing use of robots causes higher rates of unemployment in the U.S.