More than 150,000 jobs lost in December last year and January this year combined
"Youth employment declines in sectors highly exposed to AI after ChatGPT launch"
There are early signs that the employment shock from the spread of artificial intelligence (AI) is beginning to show up in labor statistics. In particular, the number of workers in professional services, which include so-called humanities-based professions such as lawyers and accountants, has recorded a sharp decline for two consecutive months.
According to the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS) on the 16th, the number of people employed in professional, scientific, and technical services in January was 1,389,000, down 98,000 from a year earlier. Among all industries, this was the second-largest decrease after agriculture, forestry, and fishing (-107,000). In December last year as well, employment in this sector fell by 56,000. This marks the largest two-month consecutive decline since 2013, when the current industrial classification standards were introduced.
Professional, scientific, and technical services have long been considered a relatively stable occupational group. It is in this sector that an unusually sharp decline has now appeared for two consecutive months.
According to the National Data Office, the decline has been larger in professional services than in research and development or architectural technology and engineering. Professional services include legal services such as lawyers and patent attorneys, as well as accountants, tax accountants, opinion polling, and consulting. Although statistics are not compiled for each of these detailed occupations, they are generally regarded as job categories that are among the first to be exposed to AI-driven shockwaves.
The Bank of Korea also recently classified professional services, information services, and publishing in its report "AI Diffusion and Weakening Youth Employment" as industries that are "highly exposed to AI." The report also presented analysis showing that youth employment in these sectors has declined since the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT.
An official at the National Data Office said, "We are watching closely to see whether this reflects a trend in which some professional work is being replaced by AI," but added, "There are base effects in the statistics as well, so it will take more time to determine the actual extent of the AI-driven impact."
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