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A Study on the Impact of Digital Economic Development on Labor Market Structure and Skill Demand

Author(s)

Zhanhua Xin*

Affiliation(s)

Baise University, Baise, Guangxi, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impact mechanisms of digital economic development on labor market structure and skill demand transformation, revealing their coordinated evolutionary pathways. By systematically reviewing existing literature, the paper summarizes the role of the digital economy in reshaping industrial chains and employment models, and analyzes the interactive relationship between labor market structural adjustments and the structural changes in skill demand within a theoretical framework. The findings indicate that the digital economy, by promoting industrial digital transformation and diversifying employment forms, drives a restructuring trend in the labor market characterized by “high-end expansion and low-end contraction” of job positions, while simultaneously intensifying the coexistence of “high-end, digitalized, and composite skill demands” with skill polarization. There exists a bidirectional dynamic relationship between labor market structural adjustments and skill demand transformations, where skill mismatches and structural imbalances in human capital become key constraints to labor market optimization. This paper concludes that improving skill training systems, optimizing human capital allocation mechanisms, and innovating employment matching mechanisms are essential to achieving the coordinated upgrading of labor market structures and skill structures, thereby fostering high-quality employment development in the context of the digital economy.

Keywords

Digital Economy; Labor Market Structure; Skill Demand; Skill Mismatch; Structural Transformation

References

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