“We have a very large proportion of very exposed people.” Pioneer study analyzed 120 professions: those in collapse, in the field of humans, in the field of machines and the rising professions.
The growth of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation puts about 30% of jobs of the private sector at risk of disappearing.
The conclusions are from the new Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation (FFMS) – the first one that addresses the impacts of digitization, AI and automation throughout the labor market in the country.
“We have a very large proportion of very exposed people,” admits one of the study authors.
Portugal “does not have a great level of technology adoption” and “qualifications in the country remain lower than many countries, although they have been growing many,” says Hugo Castro Silva.
The most vulnerable professions
The most vulnerable professions include sales workers, table employees, cashier, cooks e machine operators.
These occupations, which represented 28.8% of employment in the private sector in 2021, have “a high degree of exposure to technologies that replace human work,” says Castro Silva. They may disappear completely or become the point of demanding much less human intervention.
Of the professions in collapse to the rising professions
The study analyzed 120 professions, grouping them into four categories: collapse professions, humans’ terrain, machine terrain and rising professions.
The category of collapse professions Includes those that, due to technological advances, are in serious danger of becoming obsolete. An example of this is the 170,000 sales workers, the 114,000 in elementary professions and the 82,000 table and bar employees – together, more than 11% of the total employment in the private sector.
A common feature of these professions is the low qualification of workers and reduced wages, on average less than 830 euros monthly. But there is hope: With requalification programs, many of these professionals will be able to move to more resilient occupations, located in the so -called “human terrain.”
In the opposite extreme are the rising professionswhich represent 22.5% of employment and are not only protected from the negative impacts of automation but also positioned to benefit from productivity gains associated with artificial intelligence.
These are analysts and programmers, finance specialists, teachers, health professionals, sales and marketing and mathematical experts. They have high levels of qualification – 63.4% have higher education – and earn average salaries of about 1987 euros a month.
As Professions concentrated in the “terrain of humans” They represent 35.7% of employment and are characterized by low exposure to both destructive effects and the transformative effects of digitization.
These are the cleaning staff, drivers, construction workers, health and safety professionals, for example. Many of these professions have characteristics close to those in collapse, warns the study.
Already the “Land of the machines”which covers only 12.9% of the job, is in a crossroads. It is composed of office, warehouse or reception employees, who face both high automation potential and few opportunities for adaptation. But the trend points to a progressive decrease in these jobs.
Lisbon should benefit more for innovation. Braga, Aveiro and Viseu, with great industrial presence, are more exposed.
The authors propose the investment in the requalification of the most vulnerable workers, the reformulation of school curricula to include digital and analytical skills, the reinforcement of social protection in unemployment, the formation of employers and managers for digital transition and the incentive to economic diversification in interior regions.
