This paper examines the labor market effects of public data governance using the staggered rollout of open government data platforms across 218 cities in the People’s Republic of China.
Employing a difference-in-differences design with business registration records covering 70 million enterprises, listed company data, and labor dispute records, this paper shows that public data boosts employment through firm dynamics while widening wage inequality. The findings highlight the dual mechanisms of organizational adaptation and worker resistance in the digital economy.