Abstract: The author develops a new methodology to measure occupational skill requirements in New York City. The analysis matches locally derived skill ratings for detailed census occupations to years of local schooling and then estimates the change in mean skill requirements for employed New York City residents and the change in local employment of occupational skills classed by level of required education during the 1980s. The results show insignificant change in employment weighted skill means for all occupations. But the disaggregated analysis shows skill requirements bifurcated during the decade, with employment growth concentrated in college-level and sub–high school graduate–level occupations relative to high school graduate–level occupations. The findings suggest that demand-side forces are destroying mid-skilled jobs, casting doubt on the efficacy of supply-side policy measures intended to improve labor market outcomes for workers with less than a college education.
Publication Year: 2001
Publication Date: 2001-05-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 15
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