Abstract

New digital technologies are transforming the German labor market. This is particularly true for the extent to which jobs are currently potentially replaceable by the use of computers or computer-controlled machines, the so-called substitutability potential. This describes the proportion of activities in a profession that could already be replaced today through the use of modern technologies. While the substitutability potential remains highest in support and skilled worker occupations, the potential has increased most sharply in expert occupations (including through generative artificial intelligence). IT and scientific service occupations in particular experienced high growth rates between 2019 and 2022. This article focuses on the labor market in Brandenburg and Berlin. It is important to emphasize that this concerns the potential for technological substitutability. Whether and to what extent the technological possibilities will actually be implemented is uncertain. There may be reasons that speak against actual substitution, for example, because a transition would be too complex or because ethical concerns oppose it. However, it is undisputed that, on the one hand, some jobs are being eliminated or automated due to digitalization, but on the other hand, new jobs and professions are also being created. Therefore, a high substitution potential can be seen as an indicator of a transformation in the world of work.