The effect of technological changes on labour market: new challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Technological progress that dynamically changes the mechanisms of the economy, has gained new impetus nowadays thanks to innovations in electronics and information technology. The new technological-economic paradigm shift called the Fourth Industrial Revolution is realized in digitization, networking, automation, and robotics, which can also result in serious changes in the labour market. Employment is reorganized, new professions are emerging, and traditional workplaces can be disappeared because robots can substitute live work. In a constantly changing economic environment, adaptation is essential for effective labour market presence, therefore employees need to acquire new skills and abilities, as well as lifelong-learning becomes more and more important. This paper aims to summarize the major labour market changes induced by a new wave of technological progress highlighting the critical areas that will be the biggest challenge in the future but at the same time offer new opportunities for the labour supply side.