How likely are you to be replaced by a robot at work?

And for those working in retail, restaurants or in farming the chance they might be replaced by machines is more likely than not.

A new report by the ONS has calculated that the probability of automation replacing you in your job if you work as waiting staff is 72.8 per cent.

This means waiters are more likely to be replaced by robots or machines than farm workers or cleaners.

The ONS added the proportion of jobs at high risk has decreased since 2011 from 8.1 per cent to 7.4 per cent.

However, they added the decrease could be down to the fact automation of some jobs - such as supermarket checkout workers - has already taken place.

A spokesman for the ONS said: “ The exact reasons for the decrease in the proportion of roles at high risk of automation are unclear, but it is possible that automation of some jobs has already happened.

“Additionally, while the overall number of jobs has increased, the majority of these are in occupations that are at low or medium risk, suggesting that the labour market may be changing to jobs that require more complex and less routine skills.”

How many jobs are at risk?

The study analysed 20 million jobs across England, with the probability of workers being replaced by automation at 46.8 per cent in Lancashire, higher than in Yorkshire but lower than in the North East.

Of the nearly 0.9m jobs analysed in the region, the ONS estimates 310,000 jobs, or 68 per cent of jobs in the county, have a medium risk of automation.

Where are the jobs at risk?

Employees in West Lancashire have the highest proportion of jobs at a high risk of automation.

Statistics show 15.7 per cent of jobs are at a high risk of automation in the district, with those working in Preston also high on the list, with 13.3 per cent of jobs at high risk of automation, equating to around 7,000 jobs in the city.

More than half of all jobs in the city are at risk, with the probability of automation sitting at 50.4 per cent, the second highest in the region after West Lancashire.

Workers in Rossendale are the least likely to see their jobs disappear to AI, with the average probability of automation at 36.7 per cent.

What are the jobs at risk?

Across England, the top ten occupations that are the highest risk of automation are;

Waiting staff, 72.8 per cent

Shelf fillers, 71.7 per cent

Sales occupations, 70.7 per cent

Bar staff, 70.6 per cent

Kitchen and catering assistants, 69.2 per cent

Farm workers, 69.0 per cent

Sewing machinists, 68.6 per cent

Cleaners and domestics, 68.1 per cent

Tyre, exhaust and windscreen fitters, 68.1 per cent

Vehicle valeters and cleaners, 67.8 per cent

Probability of automation by local authority

West Lancashire, 51.3%

Preston, 50.4%

Pendle, 50.3%

Blackburn with Darwen, 49.7%

South Ribble, 48.9%

Hyndburn, 48.1%

Burnley, 47.2%

Wyre, 46.7%

Ribble Valley, 46.7%

Lancaster, 45.7%

Chorley, 44.4%

Fylde, 42.4%

Rossendale, 36.7%