Originally Posted: Fall 2018
The polarization of the U.S. labor market has resulted in availability of high-skill jobs as well as availability of low-skill jobs. The lack of jobs in between those two ends of the spectrum presents a problem for our country.
If you want to understand why the middle class is under such pressure, look no further than the decline in jobs for middle-skilled workers. At the very time that a growing share of U.S. workers have landed high-skilled or low-skilled jobs, opportunities for workers in mid-wage, mid-education positions have hollowed out. As a result, the nation is witnessing a shrinking share of so-called middling jobs.
The polarization of the U.S. labor market poses important questions for policymakers at the federal, state, and even local levels. For starters, they need to learn from communities and regions that actually are producing middle-class jobs. They also need a better understanding of how to prepare workers for such employment. As those lessons are learned, the job prospects for middle-skilled workers can look as bright as those for high-skilled and low-skilled workers. READ MORE