Artificial intelligence could reshape Pakistan’s job market, with 61% of service sector workers holding jobs that face above-median AI exposure, according to a new World Bank report. The findings raise both productivity opportunities and concerns over potential job losses.
The report, titled “Job Opportunities and AI in Pakistan,” found that the country’s average occupational AI exposure score in 2024 stood 0.48 standard deviations below the median. However, the impact varies sharply across sectors, with services facing the greatest exposure while agriculture remains largely untouched.
In the service sector, wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, real estate, and education all have more than 80% of workers in highly AI-exposed roles. Meanwhile, manufacturing sits at just 7%, other industrial sectors at 5%, and agriculture at less than 1%.
The report does not suggest that all exposed workers will lose their jobs. Instead, AI can also assist workers and improve their output. Around 18% of employed workers in Pakistan hold jobs with both high AI exposure and high human-AI complementarity. In contrast, only 8% work in highly exposed roles with low complementarity, meaning fewer jobs face outright replacement.
Real estate and education primarily show complementary exposure, which points to room for AI-assisted productivity gains. Wholesale and retail trade, by contrast, combines a large workforce with high AI exposure. As a result, this sector plays a key role in how Pakistan’s job market adapts to AI.
Agriculture employs a large share of the workforce but remains concentrated in low-exposure occupations. This limits AI’s immediate impact on farm workers, though the technology could still help improve agricultural output over time.
The World Bank warns that AI’s effects will depend on how businesses and workers adopt the technology. Furthermore, the availability of relevant skills and supporting investments will shape the outcome. For Pakistan, the findings highlight the need to prepare workers for changing job requirements while helping businesses use AI to boost productivity.
