Globally, there were estimated to be 3.3 billion employed people in 2018: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-pros

Globally, there were estimated to be 3.3 billion employed people in 2018: https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-april-2019-briefing-no-125/ https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-e... That’s more than the entire global population was in 1964. So it’s not exactly like there’s a dwindling base of extremely high skilled jobs and majority unemployment. You are right that the minimum skill level is rising for many desirable jobs in developed countries. There are still plenty of jobs to be done that can be taught in one afternoon though. It’s true that in many sectors in developed countries–such as agriculture–fewer workers use automation to achieve a higher level of productivity than historically. However, most industrial jobs lost in developed nations are a result of outsourcing to low cost economies, not being out-competed by automatons. The people who no longer have to toil in the fields didn’t just give up on life; they ended up as hairdressers, therapists, accountants, decorators, shopkeepers, software developers etc. We’re not remotely close to automating vast numbers of jobs, and even when we do there will be more jobs to be done. Comparative advantage tells us that even if the machines are way better than people at everything, it will still make economic sense to put people to work at what they can do best.