Almost 30 per cent of jobs in some northern towns are in occupations at risk of shrinking by 2030, thanks to a wave of automation and further globalisation, according to new analysis.
Mansfield, Wakefield and Sunderland are likely to be hit the hardest, the Centre for Cities think tank concluded.
The increased use of robots, artificial intelligence and other technologies to replace human labour will deepen the North/South divide, the think tank warned.
It predicted that a fifth of jobs in British urban areas will be in occupations threatened by automation and globalisation by 2030, with retail, customer services and warehouse jobs among the most vulnerable.
The South will not be immune from the trends but will see less jobs under threat. Cambridge and Oxford face losing 13 per cent of jobs, the study estimates.
Jobs will also be created by the spread of new technologies that will offset those lost the think tank said. However, it said that in those towns worst affected by automation, many of the new roles are likely to be low-skilled.
Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said automation and globalisation will bring “huge opportunities” to increase prosperity but warned that many people and places will lose out unless the Government takes action.
“National and local leaders need to ensure that people in cities across the North and Midlands can share in the benefits these changes could offer,” Mr Carter said.
“That means reforming the education system to give young people the cognitive and interpersonal skills they need to thrive in the future, and improving school standards, especially in places where jobs are most at risk.
“We also need greater investment in lifelong learning and technical education to help adults adapt to the changing labour market, and better retraining for people who lose their jobs because of these changes.
“The challenges and opportunities ahead for Blackburn are very different to those for Brighton.”
Research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) earlier this month predicted that steep increases in UK minimum wage could kickstart an automation revolution in the workplace.
For the over-25s, the minimum wage now stands at £7.50, covering 4 per cent of employees, and will rise to £7.83 in April.
The Government plans to hike it to 60 per cent of median earnings by 2020, which would equate to around £8.56 on current projections.
Around 11 per cent of the workers set to be affected by the new minimum by 2020 are in jobs that are “routine” that could potentially performed by machines.
