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“The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens”. Will there be good jobs left for next generation? The good news: U.S. almost certainly isn’t going to run out of jobs, even though history shows it’s impossible to predict what new jobs will replace those that are destroyed
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“The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens” • Will there be good jobs left for next generation? • The good news: U.S. almost certainly isn’t going to run out of jobs, even though history shows it’s impossible to predict what new jobs will replace those that are destroyed • For example, in 1988 travel agents projected to be among fastest-growing occupations, but instead number fell due to online booking • In 1988 electronics assemblers projected to decrease, but grew as outsourcing and robotics had less effect than expected
“The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens” • The bad news: Outsourcing overseas and technology could widen gap between wages of well-paying knowledge work and poorly paid manual work • Jobs that can be reduced to series of rules likely to go – either to computers or workers offshore • Jobs that stay or are newly created likely to demand the more complex skill of recognizing patterns or will involve human contact • Tax preparation example – distinction between routine and complex returns • USI 2003 grads w/ A.S. in Nursing, mean salary of $31,800; Radiologic Technology, $38,600; Dental Hygiene, $46,600 • Community colleges excel at responding to shifting vocational demands in labor market
“The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens” • Forces of economic change favor workers w/ education and skills • Unemployment among college grads 3%, high school grads 5.5%, high school dropouts 8.5% • In 1980s and 90s, demand for educated workers grew more quickly than supply, leading to increased pay • Wages of men over age 25 w/ four-year degree now 41% higher than similar men w/ HS degree, compared to 21% higher 25 years ago • For women, 46% today compared to 25% • Notion of career ladder becoming “rock climbing”
“The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens” • MIT economist refers to two kinds of lies politicians tell about outsourcing • First, we can turn it all back • No, because even if trade cut off, technology can do same thing to workers • Second, education is all that matters • May be true, but only in long run • Wo/ better elementary and high schools, wider access to college and more training of mature workers, wage gap is certain to grow