AI reshapes labour demand across Asia, posing challenges for job creation and skills development: Report

The future of workspaces in Asia will depend not simply on how rapidly artificial intelligence AI advances but on how effectively economies businesses and workers adapt to itFor countries such as India Indonesia and the Philippines the challenge will be creating enough productive jobs for growing workingage populations while AI increasingly transforms the very sectors expected to absorb themAccording to the International Monetary Funds IMF October 2026 Regional Economic Outlook Asia and Pacific AI is already influencing labour demand across the regionDrawing on approximately 40 million online job postings across 19 Asian economies the report finds that employer demand has fallen by nearly 10 per cent in occupations more exposed to AI relative to lessexposed occupations since the launch of ChatGPT in November 2022The impact however is not a straightforward story of technological displacement Although AI capabilities have advanced considerably the decline in demand for workers in highly exposed occupations appears to have stabilisedOne important reason is the emergence of new employment opportunities requiring skills such as prompt engineering retrievalaugmented generation and AI agent development Employers increasingly seek workers who can integrate AI into business processes improve productivity and translate technological capabilities into practical outcomesThe report also highlights the importance of firmlevel adoption Around 6 per cent of firms in Asia explicitly request AI skills in their job postings suggesting that adoption remains unevenBusinesses that adopt AI are experiencing stronger labour demand growth than nonadopting firms including in occupations highly exposed to automation This indicates that AI can complement human capabilities even as it reduces demand for certain tasksThe report noted that the implications will vary considerably across economies India and other emerging Asian economies may initially benefit from lower exposure because many workers remain in agriculture and other lessexposed sectors Yet this could become a structural challenge if AI makes the transition towards higherproductivity manufacturing and services more difficultThe policy priority must therefore extend beyond technological adoption to education reform reskilling digital infrastructure and stronger labourmarket institutions Businesses must invest in workers alongside AI while governments prepare younger populations for evolving occupational demandsUltimately AI need not become a barrier to inclusive growth With timely investment in skills and preparedness Asia can turn technological disruption into an opportunity for productivity innovation and sustainable employmentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever