ALMOST half of jobs in Bradford are at risk of being replaced by robots, with hospitality, retail and car care some of the roles most at risk of automation.

Research by electrical supplier Electrical Direct has found that 47 per cent of jobs in the district are at risk of being replaced by robots in the coming years, with the rise of automation and artificial intelligence.

The firm has analysed 20 million jobs across the country, including thousands in Bradford, and discovered which occupations are most likely to become automated, and which areas rely heavily on these jobs for employment.

There are fears that the cost-saving and potentially increased efficiency of robots and AI could make a large number of jobs a thing of the past, as some employers inevitably choose profit over people.

While the figured show Bradford could see 47 per cent of jobs go to AI, it is not the most at-risk area in the country. Doncaster and Wigan top the list with half of all jobs in the towns at risk of automation.

It is followed by Sunderland, Scarborough, Wakefield, Gateshead and Hartlepool on 49 per cent.

At the other end of the list is London on 33 per cent and Watford and Oxford on 34 per cent, but the figures are still a stark warning that even in the least at-risk areas one in three jobs could be replaced by robots.

The jobs most at-risk of being replaced by robots were largely low-skilled roles, top of the list was waiters and waitresses which has a 72.8 per cent chance of being taken over by automation, followed by shelf stackers on 71.7 per cent.

Retail assistants and bar staff both have a more than 70 per cent chance of being replaced, while catering assistants, farm workers, sewing machinists, cleaners, some mechanic roles and vehicle valeters all face a higher than two-thirds risk of being replaced by robots.

At the other end of the scale are medical roles such as GPs, dentists, psychologists, radiographers and occupational therapists which all have about a 20 per cent chance of being replaced, and teachers and lecturers were also around the one in five mark.

Dominick Sandford, director at ElectricalDirect, said: “No longer the stuff of fantasy, the technological revolution has brought within reach what many Sci-Fi writers long predicted - an automated workforce led by AI enabled robots.

“It may not look or feel quite how it was imagined, with Covid-19 ushering in many forms of automated services which may already seem like they’ve been here forever.

“However, in the long term, such huge technological leaps forward in the way our services are provided and consumer demands are met could change the entire nature of our workforce and our entire economy."