AI-exposed sectors see sharp drop in youth employment: BOK

Seoul, Aug 18 (AHN) Youth employment has fallen sharply in sectors highly exposed to artificial intelligence (AI) technology since the emergence of generative AI chatbots, a central bank report showed on Tuesday.

Over the four-year period from June 2022 to June 2026, the number of jobs held by people aged 15 to 29 fell by 285,000, according to the report published by the Bank of Korea (BOK).

Of the total decline, 268,000 jobs, or 94 percent, were in sectors highly exposed to AI, such as information technology (IT) services, publishing, computer programming and professional services, reports Yonhap news agency.

In contrast, the number of jobs held by people in their 50s rose by 230,000 over the same period, with 173,000 of the increase coming from AI-exposed sectors.

The report set 2022 as the starting point for the study, as ChatGPT was launched late that year.

By sector, youth employment fell 31.4 percent over the cited period in IT services, while it declined 27.4 percent in publishing, which includes software and web design professionals.

Youth employment decreased 16.6 percent in computer programming and 11.6 percent in professional services.

Unemployment rates by educational background also showed young people's vulnerability to AI technology, the BOK report showed.

From 2019 to 2022, the average unemployment rate among young people with undergraduate or graduate degrees was 8.2 percent, compared with 8 percent for those who graduated from secondary school or junior college.

After 2022, the rates fell to 7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, widening the gap to 1.6 percentage points.

The BOK said the country's continued population decline may have contributed significantly to changes in youth employment over the period, while the advent of AI may have accelerated the trend.

"AI can increase the productivity of young people to a large extent. This also means they can be replaced by AI," said Oh Sam-il, a researcher at the BOK's research department. "However, we cannot say that AI is entirely behind the reduction in youth employment. Instead, AI is accelerating the trend of the diminishing career ladder for young people."

—AHN

na/