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Digitalization and Labor Market Perspective
Khachaturyan A*
Professor of the Moscow State University, Russia
Submission: July 09, 2024;Published: August 02, 2024
*Corresponding author: Khachaturyan A, Professor of the Moscow State University, Russia
How to cite this article: Khachaturyan A. Digitalization and Labor Market Perspective. Acad J Politics and Public Admin. 2024; 1(5): 555571. DOI:10.19080/ACJPP.2024.01.555571.
Abstract
The main one is when economy continues to digitally transform, there is a threat that many jobs will close, and this time they will be turned in a new type of jobs. There can be such a situation when workers leave their position and because of digitalization, not only will they be unemployed, but just unnecessary for social production. It is shown that the development of digitalization leads not only to a change in the technological structure and mechanisms of economic growth but creates the preconditions for a radical change in the paradigm of the social structure, changes the consciousness of people and their worldview.
Keywords: Global problems; Demography; Digital economy; Labor market; Unemployment; Digital migration
Opinion
Many countries today are characterized by the transition to a new type of post-industrial economy - the information economy, the basis of which is the third technological revolution and the main value of which is information. Production of new knowledge and informatization cover practically all spheres of society and cause deep qualitative changes in them. A new social environment of life, a new state of economy and society are emerging. Digitization not only leads to changes in the mechanisms of economic growth, but also creates conditions for a radical change in the paradigm of social structure. The peculiarity of the information economy is that it is focused on the mass and global nature of economic interaction, as well as the distribution of created benefits among consumers on a global scale. Unlike traditional methods of economic management based on the market business model of “supply and demand”, the Information Economy is based on innovative entrepreneurship and information engineering. Within its framework, the production of new knowledge and informatization have covered practically all spheres of life and caused profound qualitative changes in them.
At the beginning of the 21st century (with the spread of high-tech equipment, increased access to high-speed Internet, and active development of information and digital technologies), the information economy entered a new stage - the digital economy. The digital economy is not only a large-scale technological breakthrough, but also the corresponding creation of a new culture, values and norms of behavior. In the digital economy, the main competitive advantages are not natural resources or the power of financial capital, but the level of education and the amount of knowledge accumulated by society. The intellectualization of the economic environment, new scientific knowledge and innovative companies are becoming the necessary basis for the existence of a highly efficient and competitive market economy, placing diverse and ever-increasing demands on people as subjects of this new economy. Digital technologies that accelerate the transfer of information, the active introduction of programmable devices into everyday life, and the use of 3D printing technologies are contributing to a very rapid change in the way we live and in the structure of most economic relationships.
In addition, the digitalization of the economy requires radical changes in both the personality and the skills of the worker. On the one hand, this contradicts conservative human nature. On the other hand, one should realize that it is an impossible task to retrain huge cohorts of cashiers, security guards, translators, etc. into programmers. - is an impossible task. To make matters worse, a generation is constantly confronted with the emergence and disappearance of occupations, and technological innovation shortens the life span of any occupation. From a labor market at the committee level, the Bill is merely waiting for a chance to be sponsored in the senate plenary sessionIn addition, the digitalization of the economy requires radical changes in both the personality and the skills of the worker. On the one hand, this contradicts conservative human nature. On the other hand, one should realize that it is an impossible task to retrain huge cohorts of cashiers, security guards, translators, etc. into programmers. - is an impossible task. To make matters worse, a generation is constantly confronted with the emergence and disappearance of occupations, and technological innovation shortens the life span of any occupation. From a labor market perspective, the impact of digital technologies will be to reduce the share of routine activities and to absorb different areas of work with intelligence and new digital skills. The development of digital technologies places new demands on the system of human capital formation, especially on the improvement of the education system. The need to participate in the global digital economy requires training not only programmers and engineers, but also fundamentally new types of specialists. At the same time, the use of digital technologies will lead to a reduction in the number of jobs in many professions and, in the future, to their complete disappearance. In their place, there will be a need for professionals capable of serving the digital economy.
There is a high risk that the consequences of the digital economy will not be as positive for people as expected. The main problem is that with the digital transformation of the economy, more and more jobs may be threatened by obsolescence, which are not currently being replaced by new jobs. As a result, the workers made redundant by digitalization may not only become unemployed, but also unnecessary for social production. It is feared that the development of digitalization not only leads to changes in the technological structure and mechanisms of economic growth, but also creates the conditions for a radical paradigm shift in the social structure, changing people’s consciousness and world view.
Moreover, the digital economy is forcing society to evolve from the integrity of the industrial era to individualized, fragmented, unstable, and often virtual economic and social relationships. This, in turn, poses a significant threat to social human capital and changes its structure. In particular, digitalization is creating a new social stratum of workers who have lost their jobs and fallen out of social production - the precariat - which is rapidly becoming a universal threat to the entire modern world, threatening the existence of the middle class. All this can lead to the flight of unemployed workers from developed to developing countries, as well as to various forms of virtual migration. The structure of previous migration from developing to developed countries is also changing. This raises a global question - what to do with those people who are liberated from social production by robots and automated systems, how to ensure their socialization in modern society, how to support them?
It is important to understand that digital transformation poses serious social problems of global scale, first of all, the release of large contingents of workers and adjustment of their way of life in society. One of them is particularly important - forming the image of a future world in which humanity is not an unconditional concept and reality.
In the development of human capital in a global world, it is naive to assume that everything will take care of itself and that a policy of non-interference is the best we can do. The whole world needs to think seriously about how many people it will need now and in the not too distant future. Governments need to be active in developing appropriate compensatory mechanisms. Otherwise, we will witness an unprecedented increase in social tensions associated with the development of information technologies in the economy and society.
The optimistic scenario of the global digital world gives reason to hope that skilled workers will continue to be in demand, but this hope contradicts the absolute novelty of the production situation, which is changing dramatically before the eyes of a generation. The high rate of change resulting from the speed of information and communication means that all workers will need to be retrained at the same rate, new occupations will disappear and new ones will emerge, and the world will change radically. There will be a need for continuing education that prepares workers to work in a global digital world, well versed in the everchanging culture and forms of production. There will be less and less demand for routine jobs and more and more demand for creative people. But where will we find them? This is one of the questions that needs to be addressed.
The pessimistic prognosis assumes that, despite all the desire for self-realization through work, a person will only be in demand as a professional if an intellectual machine is not capable of doing something. Moreover, if such niches are found, they will be available only to a small minority of existing workers. The rest will have to prepare for unemployment or think about migrating to less developed countries that do not yet have a developed digital economy. Possible unemployment will not seem catastrophic, but rather comfortable (most likely with financial support from the state). All of this will be a challenge for the global digital world, which must be prepared for and responded to with dignity.
The global digital revolution may not only change, but seriously disrupt our current world. The rapid development of digital civilization may turn into an uncontrollable process with unpredictable negative consequences for society. We need to realize what price we are willing to pay for such dramatic changes, and which ones we will accept and which ones we will not. In these conditions, we need the regulatory function of professionals capable of taking preventive measures based on a thorough and systematic study of emerging problems and seamlessly integrating society into the context of the new economic reality. The development of the digital economy requires the rapid evolution of existing global institutions and the creation of new ones to meet its needs. These are both formal and informal institutions, such as norms of behavior, evaluation criteria, morality. One of their main characteristics is human-centeredness.
It seems that the main role of the state in the formation and development of the global digital economy is to create a new environment for human existence, adequate to the new high digital technologies. The solution of this problem requires a revision of the goals of the state social policy, its orientation on the accumulation and improvement of the quality of human capital. With the help of digital technologies it is possible to build an economy of coordinated interests of the state, society, business and the interests of a particular person in real time at the local level at the place of his residence. This requires reforming the main state and public institutions, creating and developing a new social environment and new social values. Countries with more developed economies should prioritize innovation, and countries with developing economies should prioritize institutions. All these countries should focus on creating the legal, technical, organizational and financial conditions for the development of the digital economy.
