RISK OF AUTOMATION FOR JOBS IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The study investigates the risk of automation for jobs in Pakistan with the advent of technologies that not only mimic human movement but human thinking as well. The study examines the Pakistan’s labour market and evaluates the occupational split for the labour force and its susceptibility to automation. The study utilizes Osborne and Frey’s (2017) susceptibility scores and maps them on to labour force in Pakistan using the Pakistan Standard Classification of Occupations and the Labour Force Survey and find that more than half of jobs in the country have high risk of automation in the next two decades. The study provides some basic yet concrete policy recommendations that can help in countering the risks and taking advantage of improved technologies in the country. Pakistan has banked heavily on its ‘youth bulge’ for progress but the absence of a clear strategy and inability of the market to absorb the surplus youth might become a problem for the economy that can exacerbated by the pressures posed by job automation.