It has been well documented that the share of the working-age population employed in “middle-skill” occupations has been falling for some time, while the share in lower- and higher-skill jobs has been rising–i.e. “polarization” of the labor market (e.g. Autor 2010). However, the dynamics and related mechanism behind these employment trends are not fully understood; nor is it well understood what happens to workers who are displaced from middle-skill jobs.
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