Digital Automation and Employment Dynamics: Evidence from the 2019 Annual Business Survey

Abstract

This paper examines how the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based computing, and robotics was associated with workforce outcomes among U.S. employer firms. The analysis uses the 2019 Annual Business Survey, administered by the U.S. Census Bureau for the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, which asked firms about technology use during the 2016-2018 reference period. The study reports descriptive results for three outcomes: changes in the number of workers, changes in the overall skill level of workers, and changes in workers' science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills. Most technology-using firms reported no change in workforce size. Among firms reporting a change, increases in employment were more common than decreases for all three focal technologies, although the margin was smallest for robotics. Reported skill increases were more frequent than reported skill decreases, especially among AI-using firms. The findings do not establish causal effects, but they provide firm-level evidence that these technologies were more often associated with workforce stability and upskilling than with reported net employment reductions during the period studied.

• David Nelson
  National University

• Journal:
  Journal of Applied Human Computer Interaction (JAHCI)
• Submitted:
  January 18, 2024
• Published:
  February 02, 2024