Computerisation, labor productivity and employment: impact across industries vary with technological level

Computerisation has significantly transformed the structure of employment and could continue to do so. However, productivity gains have been slowing down over the last ten years, without computerisation seeming able to overturn the trend. Therefore what are the links between computerisation, productivity and employment? Data processing can, for example, be used to control automated tasks in a factory, but also to supply more advice or innovation tasks. Here, computerisation, employment and labor productivity are analysed by comparing about two hundred industrial manufacturing sectors over time. In France between 1994 and 2007, the intensification of computerisation covered contrasted situations regarding labor productivity and employment between low tech industries and mid/high-tech IT-using manufacturing sectors. For the first, computerisation goes hand in hand with strong increases in labor productivity and declines in employment. On the other hand, for the second, while computerisation is not associated with labor productivity gains, it is not associated to job cuts either. Nonetheless, everywhere computerisation is more favourable to the most qualified workers.