AI could reshape Pakistan’s labour market, puts service-sector jobs in focus: World Bank

A World Bank assessment says artificial intelligence could affect Pakistan’s workforce unevenly, with services more exposed than other major sectors. In 2024, 61 percent of service workers held jobs with above-median AI exposure, compared with 7 percent in manufacturing, 5 percent in other industry and less than one percent in agriculture. The report says Pakistan’s average occupational exposure score was 0.48 standard deviations below the median occupation, broadly in line with emerging and developing economies.

Exposure does not automatically mean job losses, as AI can also support workers and raise productivity. About 18 percent of employed people in 2024 worked in occupations combining high AI exposure with strong potential for human-AI complementarity, while 8 percent were in highly exposed roles with low complementarity. Wholesale and retail trade is particularly significant because it has substantial employment and sizable numbers of both complementary and substitutable jobs; the World Bank says outcomes will depend on adoption, skills and related investment.