Robots and computers are undermining wages by simplifying jobs and turning skilled work into unskilled ­labour.

Automation is spreading into office jobs and the services sector, meaning middle class careers and professions risk being undercut in a way never before seen.

It will squash pay packets severely for years or even decades to come, a new report from Barclays has warned.

Written by more than a dozen Barclays executives, researchers and economists, it said several careers have already been destroyed as routes to prosperity.

Lorry drivers were once highly paid – physical strength combined with the dexterity required to manoeuvre large vehicles, abilities and skills that were hard to acquire – but power steering removed the strength requirement, and rear-view cameras make reversing a juggernaut simpler. As a result, real wages have crashed. The average US trucker earned $38,000 (£26,000) in 1980, but only $46,000 now – but to keep up with price inflation, the wage should be several multiples of this.