Digital Transformation, Technological Innovation, and Enterprise Employment: Empirical Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

Digital transformation introduces both significant opportunities and profound challenges for the labor market. Drawing on a panel of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2021, this study systematically examines the impact and underlying mechanisms of enterprise digital transformation (EDT) on employment scale and structure. The results reveal that EDT generally fosters employment creation, evidenced by an expansion in overall employment and a rising share of high-skilled employees, accompanied by a relative decline in low-skilled employees. Mechanism analyses demonstrate that technological innovation serves as a key channel through which EDT reshapes employment outcomes. Further heterogeneity tests show that firms with greater reliance on high-skilled employees experience a more pronounced employment creation effect. Taken together, this study enriches the literature on the economic consequences of EDT by offering robust evidence on its role in shaping employment decisions, thereby providing valuable insights for policies aimed at leveraging digital transformation to expand employment and optimize labor structure. JEL classification : E24, G29, J21.