Labor Market Impacts: Analyses & Trends of Digitalization

As Artificial Intelligence and automation reshape the global economy, the central question is no longer if work will change, but how and for whom.

We look at the broader trends defining the future of work. By connecting international data with insights from the Austrian labor market, we examine what these shifts mean for the quality of our work and the roles we play. This includes discussing why technology alone cannot solve the lack of workers and why "more digital" doesn't always mean a lighter workload.

Anna Milanez: The impact of AI on the workplace: Considering the exposure of different socioeconomic groups and automation versus augmentation

This presentation will cover recent and in-progress OECD research on the impact of AI on the workplace. It will focus on which groups (men versus women, young versus old, with varying levels of education) appear to be more affected by AI across countries, sectors, and occupations. It will also offer a glimpse of in-progress work to distinguish between automation and augmentation, and how these different impacts of AI may also unfold differently across groups.

Karin Petzlberger: Requirements, Job Quality: How AI is changing work in Austrian companies

This presentation introduces the Austrian component of the OECD study on the impact of Artificial Intelligence on the world of work. Based on 52 interviews in Austrian companies within the finance, manufacturing, and energy sectors, it highlights what the implementation of AI at the workplace specifically means for employees. The focus is on the impact of AI on employment, task profiles, skill requirements, and job quality. The presentation addresses both opportunities and challenges from the perspective of employees and discusses the role of works councils. The results provide an empirical foundation for labor market and educational policy discussions regarding the use of AI. 

Florian Butollo: Automation and the Lack of Workers Tasks 

Despite technological progress, structural labor shortages continue to shape the economy. Why digitalization often becomes a pseudo-solution, how rebound effects swallow up potential relief, and why social conflicts are increasingly shifting toward the quality of work.