The Influence of the Digital Economy on Scale of Employment: From the Perspective of Population Aging

The digital economy serves as a vital engine for addressing the employment challenges posed by an aging population. By enhancing the digital skills of older individuals and creating more flexible employment opportunities, it can significantly alleviate labor supply pressures and pave the way for high-quality economic growth. This study analyzes panel data from various provinces in China between 2012 and 2022, employing both fixed-effect and threshold models to examine the influence of the digital economy on employment scale in the context of demographic aging. The findings indicate that the advancement of the digital economy positively impacts employment scale, with a marginally increasing nonlinear effect as population aging progresses. Additionally, the effects of digital economy development on employment expansion vary across regions. To effectively increase employment scale, it is essential to strengthen regional coordination mechanisms and foster collaborative efforts between government and enterprises.