Information and communication technology and employment in South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: History has shown how industrial transformations in societies have been brought forward by technological advances as a result of advanced knowledge affecting the ways of work. With every industrial revolution, literature explains that it became evident that the introduction of innovative technologies impact the workforce in terms of employment levels and the requirement of new skills to complement the complexities that arise. The information and communication technology (ICT) sector has shown to be a critical factor in economic growth in numerous developed and developing countries and through this awareness, many institutions have over the past years invested in research and development (R&D) strategies that will allow for a smoother transition into and the adaptation of technological advancements brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, many argue that the effects of ICT developments may have a negative impact on the labour market resulting in increased levels of technological unemployment as technology replaces human resources. The decline in levels of employment in South Africa continues to raise concerns among organisations and policymakers. The study therefore investigates the impact of ICT on employment levels within the South African context. Many studies conducted on the relationship between ICT developments and employment are not unanimous in their conclusion regarding the existence of a causal relationship and a short-run or long-run relationship. This study employs an empirical approach in an attempt to investigate how ICT developments affect employment levels in South Africa. As a result, data on ICT components, economic growth, investments and income were collected from the World Development Indicator database while the labour statistics were gathered from Statistics South Africa for the period 1990 to 2020. The data were interrogated using econometric models to test for cointegration and causality. The Johansen cointegration test res…
abstract: History has shown how industrial transformations in societies have been brought forward by technological advances as a result of advanced knowledge affecting the ways of work. With every industrial revolution, literature explains that it became evident that the introduction of innovative technologies impact the workforce in terms of employment levels and the requirement of new skills to complement the complexities that arise. The information and communication technology (ICT) sector has shown to be a critical factor in economic growth in numerous developed and developing countries and through this awareness, many institutions have over the past years invested in research and development (R&D) strategies that will allow for a smoother transition into and the adaptation of technological advancements brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. However, many argue that the effects of ICT developments may have a negative impact on the labour market resulting in increased levels of technological unemployment as technology replaces human resources. The decline in levels of employment in South Africa continues to raise concerns among organisations and policymakers. The study therefore investigates the impact of ICT on employment levels within the South African context. Many studies conducted on the relationship between ICT developments and employment are not unanimous in their conclusion regarding the existence of a causal relationship and a short-run or long-run relationship. This study employs an empirical approach in an attempt to investigate how ICT developments affect employment levels in South Africa. As a result, data on ICT components, economic growth, investments and income were collected from the World Development Indicator database while the labour statistics were gathered from Statistics South Africa for the period 1990 to 2020. The data were interrogated using econometric models to test for cointegration and causality. The Johansen cointegration test res…
author: Matjokana, Hlanganani Rabia
language: en
keywords: ICT, Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial intelligence, Employment, Labour force
date published: 2022
date modified: 2026-07-24T03:33:42Z
provider: North-West University (South Africa)
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: North-West University (South Africa)

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/10394/41346