Information technologies, productivity and employment
The European Commission, DG III, has published a report on "Information technologies, productivity and employment". The report examines the impact of information technology (IT) on productivity and employment and acknowledges that short-term job destruction is an inevitable result of the growth in application of IT. However, it argues that increased productivity resulting from the use of IT tends to lead to sustained employment growth in the long term. The report discusses the need for structural changes in organizations and in education and vocational training. A more flexible labour market is essential if the opportunities offered by the Information Society are to be grasped. In particular, the possibility that work can be exported to economies with lower labour costs outside Europe through the application of new ITs requires Europeans to ensure that they master developments in the Information Society.