Almost 62 percent of the jobs in Romania are at risk due to computerization of jobs, this being the highest rate in the European Union, according to a study published by Bruegel institute.

In the 28 EU states, the rate of jobs vulnerable to such computerization varies between 46.69 percent in Sweden and 61.93 percent in Romania.

In Central and Eastern Europe, the risk of computerization is of 57.91 percent in Croatia, 56.56 percent in Bulgaria, 56.29 percent in Poland, 55.34 percent in Hungary, 54.1 percent in Austria, 53.65 percent in the Czech Republic and 53.19 percent in Slovenia.

In Western Europe, Germany has a rate of 51.12 percent, Belgium - 50.38 percent, Luxembourg - 49.6 percent, France - 49.54 percent, the Netherlands - 49.5 percent, Ireland - 48.51 percent and the UK - 47.17 percent.

The rate is slightly higher in Sothern Europe. For example, the risk of computerization is of 58.94 percent in Portugal - the second highest rate in the EU after Romania, 56.47 percent in Greece, 56.18 percent in Italy and 55.32 percent in Spain.

The authors of the study expect that new advances in technology will primarily damage the low-skill, low-wage end of the labor market as tasks previously hard to computerize in the service sector become vulnerable to technological advance. This is why, countries that are most exposed are peripheral countries, which have more inefficient economies.

However, an opposite effect moderates this: peripheral countries have historically adopted new technology more slowly. Due to differences in how fast firms across countries tend to adopt technologies, it is hard to predict which countries will be hurt most in a given number of years.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com