The Labor Market Impact of Digital Technologies

We investigate the impact of digital technology on employment patterns in Korea, where firms have rapidly adopted digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and the internet of things (IoT). By exploiting regional variations in technology exposure, we find significant negative effects on high-skill and female workers, particularly those in non-IT (information technology) services. This contrasts with previous technological disruptions, such as the IT revolution and robotization, which primarily affected low-skill male workers in manufacturing. In IT services, although high-skill employment declined, vacancy postings for high-skill workers increased, implying a shift in labor demand toward newer skill sets. These findings highlight both the labor displacement and the new opportunities generated by digital transformation.