Technological change is altering the nature of work across East Asia and Pacific, according to a new World Bank report. The study, "Future Jobs: Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Platforms in East Asia and Pacific," examines how industrial robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital platforms are influencing employment patterns in the region.
The adoption of new technologies is not leading to widespread job losses but is instead reshaping labor markets. In many economies in East Asia and Pacific (EAP), these technologies have contributed to increased employment and higher wages in sectors where they are implemented. However, the benefits are distributed unevenly among workers and industries.
The impact of technology on jobs depends on whether tasks can be automated—both technically and economically. While more tasks can now be automated from a technical standpoint, economic viability often limits automation to higher-wage sectors and wealthier countries. This results in an uneven pattern of technology adoption that affects job quality, wage growth, and inequality.
Industrial robots have become more affordable for factories worldwide, especially for routine assembly line work like welding. Their costs differ greatly depending on sector complexity; robots used in electronics or vehicle manufacturing may cost up to ten times more than those employed in rubber or plastics production. Over the past decade, EAP nations have narrowed the gap with high-income countries regarding robot use. In 2022, there were 17 robots per 1,000 manufacturing workers in high-income countries compared to 12 in China and eight each in Malaysia, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Studies from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam indicate that robot adoption has increased both employment levels and earnings for workers overall. For example, regions within Viet Nam with greater robot usage experienced about a 10 percent rise in employment alongside a five percent increase in labor income. Productivity improvements linked to automation seem to generate enough scale effects to outweigh any negative impacts from job displacement.
Despite these gains, benefits have been concentrated among certain groups. Between 2018 and 2022 across five EAP countries studied by the World Bank report (https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eap/publication/future-jobs-robots-artificial-intelligence-and-digital-platforms-in-east-asia-and-pacific), industrial robot adoption created around two million jobs for skilled formal workers but displaced approximately 1.4 million low-skilled formal employees performing routine or manual tasks. Younger workers with skills complementing robotics benefited most; many older assembly-line employees had to shift into lower-paying or less secure roles.
Artificial intelligence is also changing workplaces by handling tasks such as financial analysis or translation while supporting human activity requiring strategic thinking or creativity. These types of jobs make up only about ten percent of roles in developing EAP nations compared with roughly thirty percent in high-income economies—making EAP less exposed to AI-driven job loss but also less able to take advantage of its potential benefits.
Digital platforms—including companies like Alibaba (China), GoTo (Indonesia), and Grab (Singapore)—have improved access to e-commerce services while expanding flexible job opportunities for previously excluded groups. Yet this trend has sometimes harmed traditional sectors; motorbike drivers working informally saw incomes rise by twenty percent after ride-hailing apps entered Viet Nam’s market while traditional taxi drivers faced reduced earnings security.
According to the World Bank report: “Jobs are more than just a source of income—they provide dignity and purpose, and a pathway to a better life.”
“Policy makers can help ensure that technological advances are a blessing rather than a curse,” states the report.
Recommendations include investing in skill development so people acquire technical as well as socioemotional competencies needed alongside new technologies; making it easier for both capital investment flows and worker mobility between regions or industries; addressing tax distortions that encourage excessive automation at the expense of job growth; and providing social safety nets for those working within informal segments of the digital economy.
The World Bank has released several detailed studies examining links between technological innovation, employment trends (https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2023/11/15/new-technologies-could-create-millions-of-jobs-in-east-asia-pacific-if-policymakers-act-now), productivity improvements (https://blogs.worldbank.org/eastasiapacific/digitalization-and-green-growth-key-future-jobs-east-asia-and-pacific) ,and sustainable growth strategies focused on green industries or service-oriented sectors throughout East Asia Pacific.