Substitution potential of occupations : Few job profiles keep pace with digitisation

Abstract

"A reassessment for the year 2016 in which extent occupations are replaceable by computers or computer-controlled machines has been necessary because of the fact that since our last study for the year 2013 many new technologies have become market-ready. At the same time, job profiles have changed in some occupations and new tasks or occupations emerged. We find the highest increase in the transport and logistics occupations. Because the job profiles in the service occupations in the IT-sector and natural sciences have changed significantly, these occupations have experienced a slight decline. The proportion of employees subject to social insurance contributions who work in an occupation with a high substitution potential has risen from 15 percent in 2013 to 25 percent in 2016. Substitution potentials are only partially exploited because automation may be hampered by economic, ethical or legal aspects, for example. Overall, the occupations are changing more slowly than the potential applications of new technologies." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Dengler, K. & Matthes, B. (2018): Substituierbarkeitspotenziale von Berufen: Wenige Berufsbilder halten mit der Digitalisierung Schritt. (IAB-Kurzbericht 04/2018), Nürnberg, 11 p.