Many Portuguese workers could face significant changes in the next decade, with the elimination of jobs in several sectors due to the advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Jornal de Negócios cites Randstad’s study on the national labor market, which projects that areas such as vehicle commerce and repair, manufacturing industries and education will be among those most affected by automation and new emerging technologies.
The report indicates that the use of AI is already a reality for part of the workforce. One in five professionals claims to integrate these tools into their daily work, while 60% express fear of losing their job due to the pace of technological transformation.
Unequal impact across sectors
The newspaper writes that the accelerated adoption of technology is expected to cause the elimination of close to 481,000 jobs in Portugal over the next 10 years. At the same time, it is estimated that around 400,000 new jobs will be created, resulting in a net loss of close to 80,000 roles.
The publication adds that administrative activities and areas linked to IT and telecommunications are among the most vulnerable, with automation potential that can reach 18% and 17% of the respective processes.
Despite these challenges, some sectors may benefit from the increased demand for qualified professionals. IT and telecommunications activities represent 29% of expected new opportunities, followed by consultancy, scientific and technical areas, with 14%.
Productivity grows, but raises questions
The increase in productivity should be more significant in financial services, insurance and IT and telecommunications activities, where it could be around 36%. In these calculations, consultancy, scientific and technical activities come next, with an estimated 27%.
The same report also highlights that this rapid transformation brings ethical dilemmas and social challenges. “In a short space of time, artificial intelligence is transforming the way we work with a direct impact on different sectors of activity”, says Isabel Roseiro, marketing director at Randstad, cited by .
The official also highlights that technology can generate efficiency gains, but also cause asymmetries in the market, in which some workers and companies benefit while others face the risk of substitution.
How the analysis was constructed
Note that this study was structured into three aspects. The investigation began with a literature review based on contributions from entities such as the World Economic Forum, the OECD and Goldman Sachs. This was followed by a quantitative assessment focused on the Portuguese job market and, finally, a set of surveys aimed at collecting perceptions from companies and professionals about the impact of AI in different sectors.
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