The Impact of E-Commerce on the Labor Market

Abstract

E-commerce is one of the industrial sectors created as a result of technological progress, and has created new jobs for the economy. However, this sector is conditioned not only by the level of digitalization of each state, but also by the speed of integration of technology in the business environment. The main purpose of the article is to present the impact of e-Commerce development on the labor market. It also considers impact on the labor market of human capital with advanced technological skills. It focuses on data from a particular period situated between two major crises (the economic crisis of 2008 and the health crisis of 2020). We want to know to what extent a technology-created sector can compensate for technological unemployment. To test the working hypothesis, we developed a panel regression model for a sample of 28 European states. The results indicate that 99.5% of the variation in the labor market activity rate of people aged 15 to 64 years in the selected sample of states is explained by the model. This confirms that the development of e-Commerce and an increase in the percentage of technology-specialized human resources contribute to the increase in activity rate in the labor market. As a result, the labor market must be assisted in keeping up with technology by restructuring the education system, or introducing courses that maintain competitiveness and continuous development.

The Role of Digitalization in Cross-Border E-Commerce Performance of Italian SMEs

“…Probably, data analytics require specialized and highly skilled profiles that are not compatible with micro and small firms, where the employees are probably required to multitask. This finding helps support the hypothesis that sectors where innovation and digitalization are spreading require an increase in the percentage of technology-specialized human resources [36].…”

Scenarios to Improve E-Commerce SMEs Activity Based on Their Classification: A Case Study on Romania

“…Such recruitment efforts may impact the labor market and employment rate, resulting in higher costs for economic agents who recruit staff, which are passed on to the consumer and create conditions for inflationary growth. There are studies that present whether the jobs created by the development of e-commerce exceed the jobs lost as a result of the adoption of technologies, by studying the process in 28 European countries during two crises: the financial crisis of 2008 and the pandemic of 2020 [17,50]. Other comprehensive research covers a period of 17 years, from 2003 to 2020, and analyzes the use of e-commerce and its impact on GDP within the EU Member States [51].…”

“…The pandemic accelerated the trend toward digitization, as companies were forced to adapt to the new context [15,16]. E-commerce as an economic sector has emerged as a result of the technological revolution, and like any other sector of the economy, it has its pros and cons, especially in the labor market [17]. Thus, whether in Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Customer (B2C) contexts, companies have experienced unprecedented acceleration toward online business, and entrepreneurs have realized that it is necessary to invest heavily in digital technology and continuous training courses in order to face this new challenge [18].…”

Economic Consequences of Artificial Intelligence and Labor Automation: Employment Recovery, Transformation of Labor Markets, and Dynamics of Social Structure in the Context of Digital Transformation

“…This change in the structure of employment by sector also indicates shifting employers' needs for employees' skills and a greater demand for specialists with technical and digital knowledge, skills, and competencies. Consequently, the structure of employment by type of activity is being transformed [26,27]. Source: compiled by the author based on the Eurostat data [13].…”