The Quest for Quality Jobs

摘要

The United States lost one-third of its manufacturing jobs-5.8 million positions-between 2000 and 2010. Although the economy has strengthened significantly since then, only about 12% of these jobs have returned. Their disappearance has resulted in painful social disruption: manufacturing had been a critical route to the middle class for those with high school educations or less. Nationwide, the median income of men without high school diplomas dropped 20% between 1990 and 2013; for men with high school diplomas or some college it fell 13%. For the same period, the number of people dropping out of the workforce ran at a historic high. Full-year employment of men with a high school diploma but without a college degree dropped from 76% in 1990 to 68% in 2013; the share of these men who did not work at all rose from 11% to 18%. During this period the income of those with college degrees went up, with the result that the nation's workforce is increasingly polarized. Income inequality is growing, and the middle class has been in decline. With unemployment now below 4%, the workforce is working, but those on the lower economic tiers tend to be stuck in lower-end services work without benefits. Manufacturing and retail are examples of industries that have been in decline. Increased competition from manufacturers in other countries appears to be the primary cause of the decline in US manufacturing jobs. Automation hasn't been the major factor-yet. In retail, the underlying problem is that the United States built too much retail space and has had to reduce the number of outlets, but online commerce is also reshaping the flow of goods, replacing store jobs with warehouse jobs. In warehouses, meanwhile, robots and automation are taking on significant roles.