The chart above captures the takeaway point of David Autor’s new report, “The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market,” published by the Center for American Progress and the Hamilton Project.
Professor Autor ranks occupations by mean wages (using these as a proxy for skill). Between 1999 and 2007, growth took place primarily at the low end. Between 1979 and 1989, the share of high-wage jobs grew fastest. Between 1989 and 1999, the share of low-wage jobs began to grow, but high-wage jobs continued to expand. Between 1999 and 2007, growth took place primarily at the low end.
The cumulative effect is polarization and increased inequality, intensified by job losses during the recent recession that also hit the middle-wage group particularly hard.
Read the whole blog entry (and take a careful look at the chart).
I found the comments better than the article actually….As I have said here before John Edwards was half right, there are 2 Americas, one that pays taxes and the other that takes the taxes (employment or social assistance)….
I must be way out of my depth. I think I understand the prose. I haven’t any idea how the graph illustrates what the article describes.
I’d say the Middle Class isn’t just sagging, it’s getting clobbered by some profound (and rapid) changes in the whole nature of the economy. And the issue highlighted here, outsourcing to cheaper labor markets overseas, is certainly a big part of it.
The irony of an economics prof worrying that her own academic job might be at risk as more and more education goes online is poignant and a vivid example indeed. The whole job market is far more volatile than it used to be, requiring workers to be far more flexible than ever before. It’s not just that a college degree doesn’t guaranttee a middle class income; even a Ph.D. doesn’t.
I agree with #2 that the graph doesn’t come with a clear caption or explanation. And the two darker color lines look so similar on my computer screen that I couldn’t tell them apart easily, making the confusion even worse.
David Handy+