The probability of automation of occupations in Italy

There is a rising concern for technological unemployment due to the current digital revolution. In order to estimate the probability of automation of occupations we applied two methods: occupation-based approach [Frey and Osborne (2017]) and task-based approach [Nedelkoska and Quintini (2018)]. We found that occupations with a high risk of automation require many routine activities, whereas occupations at low risk require abilities like perception, manipulation, creative intelligence and social intelligence. In Italy, based on the occupation-based approach, 33.2% of workers face a high risk of replacement; this percentage decrease at 18.1% if we apply the task-based approach. Male workers appear to face a higher risk of replacement than female ones. Actual automation may be lower than expected as it depends on many factors, such as technical feasibility, economic benefits that can be obtained and job creation thanks to technology itself. Finally, we stress the importance to adopt some policies; education and training of employees seems to be the most effective one.