Technical change and employment in an emerging economy

Technical change has traditionally had a strong influence on the economy. In particular, the quick advance of information technologies has sparked drastic changes in almost every productive activity, with skilled jobs being dramatically affected by these changes. Although most white collar jobs were apparently immune to change up until very recently, now routine-based jobs are vanishing and the remaining clerical jobs being forced to adapt. In this paper, we examine the impact of information technologies on skilled jobs in Mexico. In so doing. we ask to what extent is technological change affecting skilled jobs? Drawing on a recent research on the weekly evolution of published hiring offers for three types of jobs (stenographers. lathe operators and computer analysts) we were able to identify how traditional workers have been displaced by more sophisticated employees. Yet, traditional manufactunng jobs. such as lathe operators, seem to remain required by firms in spite of the stronger dominance of information technologies. We conclude that jobs are no longer defined by traditional skills but by multitask abilities, especially in the service sector.