Automation of employment in the presence of industry 4.0: The case of Mexico

• Published in: Technology in society Vol. 68; p. 101837
• Main Authors: Ramos, Minerva E., Garza-Rodríguez, Jorge, Gibaja-Romero, Damian E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.02.2022; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Automation; Demand; Digitization; Employment; Industry 4.0; Labor; Labor demand; Logit models; Multinomial logit model; Occupations; Polls & surveys; Probability; Risk; Skilled workers; Sociodemographics; Mexico; JEL; Automation; Employment; Occupations; E24; Industry 4.0; J24; O33; Multinomial logit model; O54
• ISSN: 0160-791X; 1879-3274
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2021.101837

The automation and digitization of interconnected production processes have changed the labor demand by boosting the creation and destruction of occupations. In the context of the I4.0, this paper analyzes the relationship between automation risk, labor demand and sociodemographic characteristics for the Mexican occupations. Hence, we estimate a multinomial logit model by considering the dataset of the National Survey of Occupation and Employment (ENOE), from the first quarter of 2013–2018. We find that changes in labor demand due to automation depend on the automation risk probability, and sociodemographic and labor characteristics. As it is the case in other countries, we find that labor demand increases for those occupations with low-risk of automation that require high-skilled workers. However, surprisingly, the direction of labor demand is inverse in the characteristics of gender, age, and education. •Automation and digitization of interconnected production processes jeopardize employment.•This study explores the probability of the automation risk of Mexican occupations and their relationship with the sociodemographic and labor characteristics.•Labor demand increases despite automation in jobs with a low and very low-risk.•Sociodemographic and labor characteristics have relevant effects on labor demand in the presence of Industry 4.0.•It is necessary to develop public policies that search for the creation of new jobs to Industry 4.0.