Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 11, 2025

Digital Transformation and Income Distribution from the Perspective of Changes in Occupational Task Structure

(Abstract)

Wu Yuxiao, Ge Ting and He Guangye

Amid the accelerating diffusion and application of digital technologies, occupational task attributes offer a more micro-level and dynamic means of depicting changes in the division of labor, becoming an important mechanism reshaping income disparities and social stratification. Using innovative methods for textual data processing and task characteristic measurement in the Chinese context, this study constructs indicators of occupational task attributes and occupational digitalization. Linking these indicators to individual-level survey data from 2012 to 2022 reveals several notable trends: rising levels of occupational digitalization and increasing demand for abstract tasks in urban China; growing income advantages associated with digitalization and abstract work, with their interaction further amplifying wage premiums, but with rising digitalization simultaneously eroding income potential for routine and manual work; and varying income returns to digitalization and task attributes across sectors of different types of ownership and groups of educational levels—the private sector demonstrates greater flexibility in capturing technology dividends and converting task value into income, while more educated workers benefit disproportionately from digitalization and abstract tasks. Conversely, less educated workers face growing risks of skill-task mismatch and income marginalization. In light of these findings, talent policies in the digital era should leverage strategic opportunities presented by digital transformation, identify the heterogeneous conditions faced by various occupational groups, and optimize resource allocation and structural upgrading to achieve talent-driven high-quality development.