## China’s Digital Dividend

_IMF Blog, February 6, 2019_

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**Canonical URL:** [China’s Digital Dividend](https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/02/06/chinas-digital-dividend)

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- [Markdown version](/en/blogs/articles/2019/02/06/chinas-digital-dividend/index.md)
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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Longmei Zhang, Sally Chen
- Published: February 6, 2019

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### Overview
- Digitalization has created millions of new jobs in China, accounting for between one-third and one-half of employment growth in the world’s second-largest economy.
- The analysis focuses on employment in two sectors: information and communications technology (ICT) and retailing.
- The overall impact of digitalization on employment has been positive as China’s economy shifts toward more labor-intensive services and away from manufacturing.

### Employment effects and statistics
- ICT added 14 million new jobs for high-skilled workers in the five years through 2016.
- The average wage in ICT doubled.
- E-commerce and the sharing economy are major drivers of job creation beyond ICT.
- Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform has almost 11 million small and medium enterprises, which have created 30 million jobs in a decade.
- Didi Chuxing Technology Co.’s ride-hailing service is connected to 13 million drivers.
- Industrial employment has fallen by 9 million since 2012, largely because of automation.
- One company, Coxcomb, has replaced 60,000 workers with 40,000 robots.
- Employment in retail sales has been largely stable despite expectations of vulnerability to automation.

### Interpretation and implications
- Digitalization has shifted employment from manufacturing toward more labor-intensive services, producing net positive employment outcomes to date.
- The stability of retail employment suggests e-commerce growth does not necessarily displace retail jobs at the aggregate level.
- Automation is a key factor behind industrial job losses.

### Policy recommendations
- Chinese authorities can aid the transition by helping to retrain displaced industrial workers for service occupations.
- Support for retraining and workforce transition policies is implied as a priority to match workers’ skills with expanding ICT, e-commerce, and sharing-economy opportunities.

*IMF Blog: China’s Digital Dividend — Longmei Zhang, Sally Chen, February 6, 2019.*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/eng-jan-31-mcp2-5.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/eng-jan-31-mcp2-5.png)
- [paper](https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2019/01/17/Chinas-Digital-Economy-Opportunities-and-Risks-46459)
- [https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/eng-jan-31-digitalecon2-4.png](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/eng-jan-31-digitalecon2-4.png)

_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2019/02/06/chinas-digital-dividend_