The loss of middle class jobs

A lot of our attention is focused on getting people connected to the labor market. The tools at hand include pre-employment workshops, language training, and certificate courses. With some support services mixed into this recipe many individuals can get a job and hopefully move up over time. But what are the real possibilities for getting ahead?

Joan Fitzgerald paints a sobering picture in her new book "Moving up in the New Economy." After thoroughly examining the best available research she concludes "Often there is no pathway for low-wage workers to advance through a progression of more responsible and better-paid jobs as they gain skills and experience, for the simple reason that there are no more intermediary jobs for them to advance into. In many industries the middle rungs of what ought to be or used to be a career ladder are simply missing; there are well-paid professional or managerial jobs at the top and dead-end jobs at the bottom - and few if any positions in between."

Restoring those middle rungs will require more structure in the labor market. One approach encourages employers themselves to structure work and advancement within their firms. Another way to achieve structure involves government policy like the minimum wage and labor regulations. Unions or some form of representational advocacy are also at play. These areas of workforce development are often the least understood, yet perhaps the most critical if we are to find ways to increase the number of middle-class jobs.

Colin Austin