Occupational Switching During the Second Industrial Revolution

Bart Hobijn and Robert S. Kaplan

No WP 2024-01, Working Paper Series from Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Abstract: During the Second Industrial Revolution, in the late nineteenth century, the proliferation of automation technologies coincided with substantial job creation but also a “hollowing out” of middle-skilled job opportunities, which historically offered reliable paths to prosperity. We use recently linked U.S. census data to document three main facts: (i) declining demand for middle-skilled labor in manufacturing corresponded to greater reallocation of workers into comparatively less-skilled occupations; (ii) older workers were more likely to switch to unskilled physical labor; (iii) younger workers led switching into growing occupations affected by automation technologies.

Keywords: Automation; Occupational choice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J62 N31 N32 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 10
Date: 2024-02-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his and nep-tid
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DOI: 10.21033/wp-2024-01

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