Skills That Pay: Digital Skills Demand and Wage Premia in Asia and the Pacific

Pawel Adrjan, Yusuke Aoki, Gabriele Ciminelli, Robin Döttling and Sílvia Garcia-Mandicó
Additional contact information
Pawel Adrjan: Indeed
Yusuke Aoki: Indeed
Gabriele Ciminelli: Asian Development Bank
Robin Döttling: Erasmus University of Rotterdam
Sílvia Garcia-Mandicó: Asian Development Bank

No 850, ADB Economics Working Paper Series from Asian Development Bank

Abstract: We study the evolution of digital and artificial intelligence (AI) skill demand across six economies in Asia and the Pacific between 2019 and 2024 using millions of online job postings from Indeed and a large language model to classify them by their required level of digital and AI proficiency. Digital skill requirements are widespread across the occupational distribution and have expanded most rapidly in traditionally low and mid digital jobs, pointing to broad technological diffusion. Jobs requiring higher digital proficiency command substantially higher pay, even when comparing job postings within the same job title and controlling for cognitive, interpersonal, organizational, and technical skill requirements. We estimate wage premia of approximately 4%, 11%, and 26% for basic, intermediate, and advanced digital skills, respectively, with intermediate and advanced digital skills commanding larger premia than many other highly rewarded skills. We also document a sharp increase in demand for AI-related competencies, particularly those related to the use of AI tools.

Keywords: digital skills; artificial intelligence; online job postings; labor market; wage premium; large language models; Asia and the Pacific (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C55 J24 J30 O15 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34
Date: 2026-06-08
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