"New technologies and the labour market (a historical perspective)"
Tomasz Skrzyński
(Economics and Business Management teacher/lecturer)
30.07.2026, 18:00 UTC+2
Online (Zoom)
Abstract: The presentation discusses the impact of new technologies on labour markets. Industrial revolutions significantly affect the labour market by changing the demand and supply of labour s well as reshaping employment patterns and organizational hierarchies. Technological progress from a global perspective leads to increased standard of living; however, not everyone benefits from it equally. Among the beneficiaries are highly skilled workers. Their wages are high; however, there is not much demand for their numbers. On the other hand, there is growing demand for low-wage labour, which (for the time being) is not cost-effective to replace with machines. Over time, however, these workers also lose their jobs. The most affected are mid-level workers whose skills are no longer needed in the labour market. From a historical perspective, surplus workers were absorbed by growing new sectors of the economy—for example, agricultural workers found employment in industry. However, the current development of artificial intelligence raises significant questions about the future situation on the labour market since, so far, it remains unclear which sector of the economy could absorb workers affected by technological unemployment.