South By North Strategies, Ltd.

In a memorandum prepared for the Center for American Progress, Harry Holzer of Georgetown University unpacks the arguments over whether or not the United States is developing a polarized labor market. Writes Holzer of the evidence:

In sum, the notion that we are developing an “hourglass economy” with large top and bottom layers but a vastly shrinking middle, while not without basis, has been overblown. Accordingly, there remains a strong need for more workers with better cognitive and analytical skills and with four-year college degrees, as Autor emphasizes. But the kinds of postsecondary education and training below the level of a four-year bachelor’s degree that still provide satisfactory preparation for many well-paying middle-skill jobs should be supported as well. And other policies to encourage higher job quality, as well as opportunities for workers to develop skills and progress on the job within a range of sectors, can be helpful too.