Digital Skills, STEM Occupation, and Job Automation Risks Among the Older Workers in the United States

Background and objectives: Advancing automation technologies are replacing certain occupations such as those involving simple food preparation more than occupations such as those in STEM fields (e.g., engineering and health care). Older workers generally face higher job automation risks in part due to their lower levels of digital skills. A better understanding of the associations between job automation risk, digital skills, and type of occupation (e.g., STEM vs non-STEM) can facilitate preparations for job automation and workforce population aging.

Research design and methods: We analyzed a nationally representative sample (N = 1,560) of middle-aged and older U.S. workers aged 50-74 years from the 2012/2014/2017 Program for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) restricted-use file. The estimated job automation risks (i.e., percentage of jobs to be automated in the next decades) were derived from the previous studies. PIAAC digital problem-solving skills proficiency (measured on a scale of 0-500 points) was assessed based on a series of practical digital tasks (e.g., finding a job research website that does not require registration).

Results: Linear regression analysis showed that greater digital skill proficiency (b = -0.04, p < .05) and STEM occupations (b = -17.78, p < .001) each were associated with lower job automation risks, even after adjusting for a series of demographic, socioeconomic, and civic engagement characteristics.

Discussion and implications: Education and labor policy interventions to promote digital skills among older workers and non-STEM workers may better prepare an aging workforce for the dynamic labor market needs in the United States.