Digitalization Is Changing How the Economy Works
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data, automation, e-commerce, and digital payment systems are changing how businesses produce, distribute, and sell goods and services. These technologies can increase productivity, improve investment efficiency, encourage innovation, expand market access, and reduce transaction costs.
However, the economic benefits of digital transformation depend on more than technology adoption. Infrastructure, institutional capacity, investment, and human resources determine whether businesses and workers can take advantage of digital opportunities.
Indonesia’s rapidly expanding digital payment ecosystem illustrates this transformation. Bank Indonesia recorded 12.99 billion digital payment transactions in the third quarter of 2025, representing 38.08% year-on-year growth. By the first half of 2025, QRIS had been used by 39.3 million merchants, with micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) accounting for 93.16% of users.
At the same time, Indonesia’s labor market remains large and diverse. Statistics Indonesia (BPS) reported 154 million people in the workforce in August 2025, including 146.54 million employed workers. The open unemployment rate stood at 4.85%, while the average monthly wage was approximately IDR 3.33 million.
Literature Review Examines Digital Transformation and Employment
The researchers used a qualitative descriptive approach based on a literature review. Rather than collecting survey responses directly from workers or businesses, they examined secondary information from scientific journal articles published from 2025 onward and official publications from institutions including BPS, Bank Indonesia, and the World Bank.
Relevant literature was identified through academic databases and search platforms, including Google Scholar, Crossref, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, SpringerLink, and MDPI. The researchers then used content analysis and thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns concerning productivity, employment, skills, structural unemployment, informality, and environmental sustainability. Findings from academic sources were compared with official statistical information to strengthen the analysis.
Digital Transformation Creates New Jobs While Reducing Routine Work
The analysis shows that digital transformation can support economic growth by improving productivity, efficiency, innovation, and connectivity. Digital infrastructure plays a central role because businesses and workers cannot fully participate in the digital economy without reliable access to technology and networks.
The employment structure is also changing. Routine and repetitive tasks are increasingly exposed to automation, while demand is growing for workers with cognitive, technical, creative, and social capabilities.
The researchers identify emerging opportunities in areas such as:
- Data analytics
- Software development
- Cybersecurity
- Digital marketing
- Platform management
- Product design
- Logistics and digital commerce
- Online store management
- Digital payment services
The expansion of digital platforms and the digitalization of MSMEs can therefore generate new economic activities. MSMEs that move beyond traditional business models and adopt digital technologies can reach broader markets and create demand for supporting services such as logistics, digital marketing, and online business management.
Skills Gaps Could Increase Structural Unemployment
The benefits of digital transformation are not distributed automatically. Workers whose existing skills are closely connected to routine activities may face greater employment risks if their jobs disappear faster than new opportunities emerge.
The study highlights the possibility of structural unemployment when workers cannot quickly transition into occupations created by technological change. Differences in digital infrastructure and skills can also widen the gap between urban and rural areas and between highly skilled and less-skilled workers.
Digital platform work presents another challenge. Although platform-based jobs can provide flexibility and new sources of income, workers may lack stable income, accident protection, health insurance, old-age security, and other forms of social protection. The expansion of digital employment therefore raises questions about not only how many jobs are created, but also the quality and security of those jobs.
Digital Growth Must Also Consider the Environment
Digital transformation can contribute to environmental sustainability through greater efficiency, technological innovation, and the development of greener production systems. However, digitalization also creates environmental pressures.
Growing digital infrastructure can increase energy consumption, while electronic devices and equipment generate electronic waste. The researchers therefore emphasize the importance of renewable energy, efficient data centers, electronic-waste management, and circular-economy practices alongside digital development.
Policy Should Connect Technology, Skills, and Worker Protection
Khairul and colleagues from Politeknik Negeri Medan argue that sustainable digital growth should not be measured solely by the number of transactions, technology users, or digital businesses. Economic progress also needs to be assessed through employment creation, income, job quality, inequality, and environmental sustainability.
Their analysis points to several priorities for policymakers:
- Expand equitable internet and digital infrastructure.
- Strengthen digital literacy and vocational education.
- Provide certification, retraining, and upskilling opportunities for workers.
- Strengthen social protection for platform workers.
- Help MSMEs use digital technology for production, financial management, service improvement, and innovation.
- Promote environmentally responsible digital infrastructure and circular-economy practices.
The authors emphasize that digital transformation should be accompanied by coordinated policies covering digital development, employment, education, and regional development.
From the perspective presented by Khairul, Diena Fadhilah, Supaino, Mardelia Desfrida, and Jasa Ginting of Politeknik Negeri Medan, digitalization can become a foundation for sustainable economic growth when workers, MSMEs, and regions receive adequate opportunities to participate in the transformation. The central challenge is ensuring that technological progress produces inclusive employment and higher-quality economic opportunities rather than deepening existing inequalities.
Author Profile
The article was written by Khairul, Diena Fadhilah, Supaino, Mardelia Desfrida, and Jasa Ginting, all affiliated with Politeknik Negeri Medan. The published article identifies their institutional affiliation but does not provide individual academic degrees or detailed fields of expertise. Accordingly, those qualifications are not specified here.
Source
Article Title: Digital Transformation as A Driver of Sustainable Economic Growth Through Changes in Employment Structure
Authors: Khairul, Diena Fadhilah, Supaino, Mardelia Desfrida, Jasa Ginting
Journal: International Journal of Sustainable Applied Sciences (IJSAS)
Publication: 2026, Vol. 4, No. 8, pp. 1035–1048
DOI: 10.59890/ijsas.v4i8.54
URL: http://ijsasjournal.my.id/index.php/ijsas
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