Abstract:

In order to clarify the micro–mechanism of industrial robot application affecting the employment structure, this paper analyzes the impact of industrial robot application on the workers' occupation choice at the theoretical level from the perspective of occupational task requirements-workers' ability matching, and conducts an empirical test based on the data of China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey from 2012 to 2016. The results show that: the application of industrial robots will, on the one hand, increase the mental requirements of all occupations, especially those in the four categories of occupations other than production operators, while at the same time decreasing the physical requirements of production operators' occupational tasks and increasing the mobility requirements of clerical workers' occupational tasks; on the other hand, it will inhibit the accumulation of workers' human capital, especially in market vulnerable groups, such as low-skilled workers and older workers. Ultimately, the application of industrial robots mainly reduces the match between the vulnerable groups in the labor market and the occupational task requirements of clerical workers, and increases their match with the requirements of production operators' occupational tasks, which in turn leads to a lower likelihood that vulnerable groups in the labor market will become clerical workers and a higher probability of engaging in occupations in the production–operations category. The results in this paper contribute to a more comprehensive evaluation of the employment impact of industrial robot applications and the development and improvement of related countermeasures, providing a basis for realizing high- quality full employment in high-quality economic development.

Key words:

 , industrial robot, occupation choice, employment structure