The Effect of the Digital Economy on the Employment Structure in Uzbekistan

This study assesses the impact of the development of the digital economy on regional employment and economic activity in Uzbekistan using panel data. The analysis is based on a dataset compiled for 14 regions between 2010 and 2024. To determine the level of the digital economy, the indicators of internet subscribers (per 100 inhabitants), the number of mobile base stations and mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 inhabitants) are combined and a composite Digital_Index is created through principal component analysis (PCA). This index is used as a generalized measure of the level of digital infrastructure and digital connectivity. The empirical assessment uses a regional fixed effects model (FE) and year effects, with standard errors clustered by region. The model includes the level of urbanization and GDP per capita (log form) as control variables. The results show that the Digital_Index has a positive and statistically significant relationship with the level of employment. Digital development also has a significant positive impact on the size of the construction sector, while the results in the agricultural sector are relatively mixed, with GDP per capita in some cases being negative and significant. The study findings highlight that expanding digital infrastructure across regions can be an important factor in increasing employment and real sector activity. The results have