The impact of intelligent technology progress on skill matching in labor market—evidence from China

Through mathematical deduction, this paper reveals the impact of intelligent technology progress on skill matching in labor market. This paper constructs a provincial-level comprehensive index of industrial intelligence from three dimensions: infrastructure, production application, competitiveness and efficiency. This paper combines it with the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2014 to 2020, and uses the Poisson model for empirical test. The regression results show that for every 1 unit increase in the level of industrial intelligence, the gap between the actual education years of workers and the education years required for work will be narrowed by 2.19 years, that is, the progress of intelligent technology has significantly improved the skill matching. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect is more obvious in Eastern China, labor-intensive and technology-intensive areas, and areas with higher degree of marketization, and is more obvious in the tertiary industry. The improvement effect of intelligent technology progress on skill matching is more evident among females, as well as middle-aged and elderly workers. This paper conducts robustness tests by replacing the measurement of skill matching and intelligent technology progress, replacing the parameter estimation method, and adjusting the settings of the econometric model, which verifies the reliability of the conclusion. Mechanism analysis indicates that intelligent technology progress contributes to the upgrading of employment skill structure, thereby promoting the improvement of skill matching in labor market. Based on the research findings, we propose relevant policy recommendations in terms of accelerating the development of industrial intelligence, deepening the reform of labor market, and so on.