Trend Skill-biased restructuring: high-skill jobs grow while mid and low-skill manufacturing jobs decline in Korea

Summary

The report expects Korean manufacturing employment to decline overall as industry upgrades toward higher value added and services take a larger share, although outcomes differ by sub-industry. Technological change and sophistication of production are the main drivers of this decline. By occupation, the outlook for high-skill jobs such as managers and professionals is positive. In contrast, craft workers, plant and machine operators and assemblers, and elementary manufacturing labourers, whose exposure to substitution by technology is high, are projected to lose employment. The result is a widening gap between skill levels that underlies the report's calls for retraining and job transition support.