Jobs, investment losses seen amid slow pace of digitalization
Although the Philippines is ultimately poised to reap economic benefits from technological change, its slow shift to automation may soon take a toll on the country’s employment rate. Asian Institute of Management Senior Data Scientist Christian Alis said the country is lagging behind its regional peers in terms of data science and digitalization. Consequently, fewer data infrastructure and data scientists may lead to lower competitiveness and fewer jobs. A study by management consultancy firm Hungry Workhorse showed that about 900,000 jobs, particularly from the business process outsourcing industry, may be wiped out by new technology if workers fail to adapt to the move towards automation. Depender Kumar, a partner of accounting and advisory giant Grant Thornton, has also said the country’s automation take-up remains slow as Philippine businesses struggle to cope with the digital shift.
