TECH

Labor market in Europe: technology marks evolution but brings new challenges
The European Commission has published the 2018 edition of the annual report on the evolution of employment and the social situation in Europe, noting that in 2017 the number of people in the labor market increased by more than three and a half million compared to 2016 .The current positive trends in the labor market are also visible in the increase in available incomes and in the reduction of poverty levels, which, compared with 2012, affects 16.1 million fewer people.Although automation and digitization do not necessarily lead to the disappearance of jobs, such as Germany and the Czech Republic where automation of production is more widespread but where the lowest unemployment rates are also recorded, the study highlights some of the challenges to have in count.The report notes that digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence can make routine tasks into obsolete traditional jobs, which are the most conducive to partial or total automation.And if this can bring new opportunities, such as helping disabled people and the elderly to enter or remain in the labor market, it can also widen inequalities, including gender or income gaps.According to the study, between 37% and 69% of jobs may be partially automated in the near future, with those most affected being routine work with low qualifications and, therefore, those with lower salaries.The Commission therefore warns that new forms of work may favor individual, temporary, and therefore more volatile, employment situations, and that adaptation to this development in the world of work will require better education and lifelong learning. life and to ensure that social protection and labor market institutions in Europe are able to fulfill their mission.
"The European Pillar of Social Rights is a reference around which all people need to be prepared for this transformation," said Marianne Thyssen, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs, Skills and Labor Mobility.
She said that while the growth of the European economy and employment could be "significantly enhanced by technological developments", this only happens "if we give it the right contours."
For Marianne Thyssen, this means "providing European citizens with improved educational qualifications and skills throughout their lives and guaranteeing all workers basic rights in a rapidly evolving world of work."



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