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America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs – Education and Training Requirements in the Next Decade and Beyond

A strong public consensus now supports enhancing the skills of America’s
workers, especially through more and higher-quality education and training. But
what kinds of skills, education, and training are most appropriate, in light of
changes in the U.S. economy?

Is the “information economy” resulting in rising demands
only for workers with college and post-graduate education? Various economists have argued that
future demands for workers will be strong in highly-educated professional jobs and low-paid
service jobs, while much more modest at skill levels in between these sectors. Does this mean
that education and training for jobs requiring less than four years of college are no longer
worthwhile public investments?

Overall, we argue that the demand for workers to fill jobs in the middle of the labor
market—those that require more than high-school, but less than a four-year
degree—will likely remain quite robust relative to its supply, especially in key sectors
of the economy. Accordingly, we see a need for increased U.S. investment in high-quality
education and training in the middle of the skills range—not just for college graduates in science,
technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

In this paper, we review evidence on how the demand for workers with different levels of
education and training will evolve over the next decade and beyond. We analyze data from the
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on recent and projected future demand for jobs in the middle of
the labor market. We also consider projected trends in the supply of workers at different levels of
education.

Harry J. Holzer
Georgetown University and The Urban Institute

Robert I. Lerman
American University and The Urban Institute

Full Story: http://www.skills2compete.org/atf/cf/%7B8E9806BF-4669-4217-AF74-26F62108EA68%7D/ForgottenJobsReport%20Final.pdf

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