Table 1
Occupational Employment Trends, 1959–2007
| Shares of total employment | Changes in employment shares | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | 1969 | 1979 | 1989 | 1999 | 2007 | 1959–69 | 1969–79 | 1979–89 | 1989–99 | 1999–2007* | |
| High wage | 20.9% | 22.4% | 25.2% | 29.3% | 33.0% | 34.0% | 1.5(ppt.) | 2.8(ppt.) | 4.1(ppt.) | 3.7(ppt.) | 1.3(ppt.) |
| Managers | 9.4 | 8.7 | 10.0 | 12.0 | 14.3 | 14.6 | -0.7 | 1.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 0.4 |
| Professionals | 9.1 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 13.6 | 15.1 | 15.9 | 1.9 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Technicians | 2.3 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | -0.1 |
| Middle wage | 65.7 | 63.5 | 60.6 | 56.2 | 51.4 | 48.0 | -2.2 | -2.9 | -4.4 | -4.7 | -4.3 |
| Sales | 8.8 | 8.5 | 10.2 | 12.1 | 11.4 | 11.5 | -0.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | -0.7 | 0.1 |
| Office and administration | 16.0 | 18.6 | 17.7 | 16.9 | 15.5 | 14.2 | 2.6 | -0.9 | -0.8 | -1.4 | -1.6 |
| Production, craft and repair | 14.6 | 13.1 | 13.0 | 11.3 | 11.3 | 10.2 | -1.6 | -0.1 | -1.7 | 0.0 | -1.4 |
| Operators, fabricators and laborers | 26.2 | 23.3 | 19.7 | 15.9 | 13.2 | 12.0 | -3.0 | -3.6 | -3.8 | -2.7 | -1.4 |
| Low wage (service occupations) | 13.4 | 14.1 | 14.2 | 14.5 | 15.6 | 18.0 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| Protective service | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Food prep, buildings and grounds, cleaning | 5.1 | 6.2 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 8.9 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 0.2 | -0.1 | 1.6 |
| Personal care and personal services | 7.1 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 6.0 | 6.9 | -0.3 | -1.7 | -0.1 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
| Total | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | |||||
* Computed at a decadal rate of change.
Source: Authors' analysis of Acemoglu and Autor (2011, Table 2) (Data are rescaled to sum to 100.0%)
This chart appears in:
Previous chart: « Determinants of rates of R&D work
Next chart: Occupational shifts and wage gaps, all workers, 1973–2007 »