WASHINGTON DC - June 17, 2025. A new World Bank report finds that the adoption of advanced technologies such as industrial robots, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital platforms is reshaping labor markets across the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region—and, contrary to popular fears, has thus far boost employment.
The report, Future Jobs: Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and Digital Platforms in East Asia and Pacific, finds that productivity and scale gains have largely offset the labor-displacing effects of automation technologies. “Today’s innovations, from AI to robotics, can enhance productivity and create better jobs. Realizing these benefits will require a skilled workforce, competitive markets and policies to mitigate transition costs,” said Manuela V. Ferro, the World Bank’s Vice President for East Asia and Pacific.
The benefits of technology adoption have been unevenly distributed. Between 2018 and 2022, approximately 1.4 million low-skilled workers, in more routine and manual jobs, were displaced by robots, while 2 million new jobs were created for skilled workers. Lower-skilled and older workers have been pushed into informal employment. Digital platforms, such as e-commerce and ride-hailing, are providing new opportunities for younger workers and women with digital skills but creating insecurity for some workers in areas like traditional retail and public transport.
While it is too early to assess the labor market effects of AI, this technology is also likely to have both displacement and augmentation effects across occupations. While the region may be relatively less exposed to the displacement effects, it may also be less well placed to benefit from AI technology. Only about 10 percent of jobs in the EAP region involve tasks complementary to AI, much lower than the 30 percent share in advanced economies.
The report outlines essential policy reforms to help countries in the region harness technological advancements for broad-based, sustainable prosperity. Key recommendations include equipping the workforce with key digital, socioemotional and technical skills; facilitating labor and capital mobility; reevaluating tax policies that inadvertently encourage excessive automation and hinder job growth; and expanding social insurance for workers in the digital informal economy.
“East Asia’s development model—relying on open global markets and labor-intensive production—is being challenged by shifting patterns of trade integration and new technologies,” said World Bank East Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Aaditya Mattoo. “Equipping the workforce with the skills required to work with new technologies and reforms to open the region’s long-protected services sectors to trade and investment will be fundamental to sustain the region’s competitive edge in this era of accelerated digital transformation.”
The report is part of a series of East Asia and Pacific development studies.
