Occupational switching during the second industrial revolution

Bart Hobijn and Robert S. Kaplan

Economics Letters, 2024, vol. 238, issue C

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; Technological displacement (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J62 N31 N32 O33 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolet:v:238:y:2024:i:c:s0165176524001654

DOI: 10.1016/j.econlet.2024.111682

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