The Impact of Digital Transformation on Regional Labour Markets in Germany: Substitution Potentials of Occupational Tasks

Abstract

The digital transformation may have large impact on the labour market. In order to determine the extent to which occupational tasks are currently replaceable by computers or computer-controlled machines, Dengler and Matthes (2015b, 2018b, 2018a) calculated substitution potentials of occupations. In this paper, we investigate the impact of digital transformation on different regions in Germany by analysing substitution potentials of occupational tasks on two different regional levels: administrative districts and regional labour markets. On the level of districts, it becomes clear that urban service centres and some rural areas have a much lower share of employees working in a highly substitutable occupation compared with manufacturing regions. In many cases, low and high values cancel each other out within regional labour markets. Nevertheless, the values still range from 15 to 38 percent. In high value regions, close monitoring of future labour market developments and (further) education appear to be of particular importance to meet the challenges of the digital transformation.