Consequences of technological change for the labour market: Highly skilled workers in particular are feeling the effects of digitalisation more keenly

Abstract

"The potential for occupational tasks to be performed fully automatically by computers or computer-controlled machines change when new technologies become available on the market. In addition, job profiles in occupations are changing, new occupations and tasks are emerging and employees are changing their occupation. Thus, we recalculate the substitution potentials for 2022. We find the highest substitution potentials in the unskilled and semi-skilled occupations; however, the strongest increase since 2019 can be observed among the highly skilled workers. Furthermore, we also find the strongest increase in the service occupations in the IT-sector and natural sciences whose tasks were previously not very substitutable. The proportion of employees subject to social insurance contributions employed in an occupation in which at least 70 percent of tasks are substitutable has risen across Germany from 34 percent in 2019 to 38 percent in 2022. Past experience has shown that the substitution potentials cannot always be fully exploited. In this respect, their potential contribution to combating skills shortages should not be overestimated." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Grienberger, K., Matthes, B. & Paulus, W. (2024): Folgen des technologischen Wandels für den Arbeitsmarkt: Vor allem Hochqualifizierte bekommen die Digitalisierung verstärkt zu spüren. (IAB-Kurzbericht 05/2024), Nürnberg, 8 p. DOI:10.48720/IAB.KB.2405