Middle Skill Workforce
Are labor markets polarizing toward high skill and very low skill jobs? What is the outlook for job seekers looking for positions between these two extremes? #careers
interesting that middle skill jobs are described as " cognitive or manual in nature and require one to follow precise procedures" while low skill jobs are described as "nonroutine and manual" and high skill jobs as "nonroutine and cognitive". Could the issue be that increased computing power leads to fewer "routine" jobs over time? Seems like any definition of a middle skill job which includes the word "routine" means it is doomed to be automated with time - while low skill jobs are described as non-routine, essentially giving them immunity to automation.
Also, I'm wondering where jobs like plumber and master carpenter fall on this spectrum. Certainly these are high skill jobs, but ones that also require a certain amount of routine procedures. This analysis seems to concentrate on jobs like cashier, telemarketer, analyst, and engineer. How does the BLS classify jobs that require both cognitive and manual labor and can run the spectrum from routine to nonroutine?
I was just reading an article about manufacturing in America:
http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21645198-talk-renaissance-american-manufacturing-overblown-not-quite-what-it-seems
The summary is that a small number of industries are having a resurgence but manufacturing isn't coming back overall.