The Future of American Jobs

The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market

By David Autor | April 30, 2010

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The Hamilton Project and the Center for American Progress are co-hosting two conferences addressing the implications of the competitive global economy and rapid technological change for the challenge of creating high-paying jobs in the United States. The conference features the release of “The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market” by MIT economics professor David Autor that analyzes the long-term trends in employment, earnings, and job opportunities, followed by two panels of academics, policy thinkers, and policymakers, capped off with a thought-provoking dialogue between one of the president’s top economic advisors and the mayor of the nation’s largest city.

Report

The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market: Implications for Employment and Earnings

This paper by MIT economics professor David Autor analyzes the state of the U.S. labor market over the past three decades to inform policymaking on two fronts. The first is to rigorously document and place in historical and international context the trajectory of the U.S. labor market, focusing on the evolving earnings, employment rates, and labor market opportunities for workers with low, moderate, and high levels of education. The second is to illuminate the key forces shaping this trajectory. The report explores the causes and consequences of these trends in U.S. employment patterns in detail.

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Event

The Future of American Jobs

The Hamilton Project and the Center for American Progress convene leaders and policy experts for the first of two conferences addressing the implications of the competitive global economy and rapid technological change for the challenge of creating high-paying jobs in the United States. Speakers include CAP President and CEO John D. Podesta, Co-Chair of the Council on Foreign Relations Robert E. Rubin, Director of The Hamilton Project Michael Greenstone, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department Alan Krueger, Cecilia Rouse of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Director of the National Economic Council Lawrence H. Summers, Charlie Rose, and many others.

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