How Technology Wrecks the Middle Class

In a recent New York Times opinion piece, David Autor and David Dorn discuss recent attention on the effects of technological change on employment. They write that computerization has polarized employment, “with job growth concentrated in both the highest- and lowest-paid occupations, while jobs in the middle have declined” and suggest that the shift is not reducing the quantity of jobs, but “degrading the quality of jobs for a significant subset of workers.” In a 2010 Hamilton Project discussion paper, “The Polarization of Job Opportunities in the U.S. Labor Market: Implications for Employment and Earnings,” Autor analyzes the U.S. labor market over the past three decades and finds employment polarization on the rise as job opportunities decline in middle-skill occupations, resulting in a sharp increase in wage inequality. To read the full piece, click here.