Spatial Dimension of the Employment Market Exposition to Digitalisation—The Case of Austria

Abstract

Digitalisation, referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, is gradually becoming part of all areas of life. The progressing digitalisation inspires new business models, restructures production processes and provides new revenue and value-producing opportunities. Simultaneously jobs are becoming abdicable and livelihoods can get threatened. To analyse the spatial context of the susceptibility of regional labour markets to 4.0 technology in Austria, the occupation-based assessment of digitalisation probability was projected on the industry standard classification and linked to the statistical employee data at the municipal level. The outcomes reveal to what extent the economic sections and divisions are exposed to digitalisation. Results representing spatial distribution reveal that digitalisation risks cannot be explicitly assigned to certain spatial structures or localities. Still, it can be stated that urban areas and small towns are relatively less exposed to disappearing of existing jobs. Municipalities with the highest vulnerability to labour replaceability are located mainly in rural areas. The discussion focuses on regional resilience, social vulnerability and possible development paths for different frameworks and spatial context of consequences. The study emphasizes the importance of digitalisation processes for regional development and presents an approach of analysing their territorial dimensions.Sustainability 2020, 12, 1852 2 of 29 never been needed before is being created [3,[7][8][9][10]. The development of digital technologies and the increasing internetworking of the past decades have already significantly changed the economy and business models. The significance of distance has changed, it is less and less considered to be a barrier for cooperation or delivery of goods and services. Changed accessibility opens up new markets for the companies and at the same time makes more goods and services available to the consumers. Digitalisation stimulates further development, demanding more innovative approaches in order to be capable of actively participating and shaping the digital transformation. It influences the expectations for the competencies of both the employers and employees [11,12]. The projections on the future demand for knowledge and skills reveal that digital technology is more likely to displace primarily routinized work than low-skilled work [13], and therefore can be the first revolution that takes away middle-class jobs. Consequently, it can lead to the point where the worse jobs, not only in terms of income but more demanding physically and less safe, are left for humans [14,15]. In the past substitution and abandonment of tasks have normally been accompanied by the continuous adjustment and emergence of other economic activities and tasks [16]. Although these processes take place concurrently, it is also evident that new digital technologies are observed to have a potentially positive influence on employment in the long-term, but short-term consequences are rather negative [17]....

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Can digital economy improve employment structure?—Mediating effect based on a spatial Durbin model

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