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Is Skill Mismatch Impeding U.S. Economic Recovery?

Author

Listed:
  • Katharine G. Abraham

    (Katharine G. Abraham is a Professor at the University of Maryland, and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).)

Abstract

As the labor market continues its slow return to health following the Great Recession, economic policymakers have been concerned that unemployed workers do not have the skills required for the jobs that employers would like to fill. In this article, the author reviews available evidence and finds little empirical basis for the view that skill mismatch has impeded U.S. economic recovery. She then considers why the widespread perception of serious skill mismatch is so much at odds with what the data suggest. The article concludes with a brief discussion of implications for policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Katharine G. Abraham, 2015. "Is Skill Mismatch Impeding U.S. Economic Recovery?," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 68(2), pages 291-313, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:68:y:2015:i:2:p:291-313
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Kishor Sharma & Edward Oczkowski & John Hicks, 2017. "Skill Shortages in Regional New South Wales: The Case of the Riverina," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 36(1), pages 3-16, March.
    2. Morgan Raux, 2019. "Looking for the "Best and Brightest": Hiring difficulties and high-skilled foreign workers," Working Papers halshs-02364921, HAL.
    3. Tara Sinclair & Martha Gimbel, 2020. "Mismatch in Online Job Search," Working Papers 2020-1, The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy.
    4. Pablo de Pedraza & Martin Guzi & Kea Tijdens, 2020. "Life satisfaction of employees, labour market tightness and matching efficiency," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(3), pages 341-355, July.
    5. Katharine G. Abraham & Melissa S. Kearney, 2020. "Explaining the Decline in the US Employment-to-Population Ratio: A Review of the Evidence," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(3), pages 585-643, September.
    6. Mary A. Burke & Alicia Sasser Modestino & Shahriar Sadighi & Rachel B. Sederberg & Bledi Taska, 2019. "No Longer Qualified? Changes in the Supply and Demand for Skills within Occupations," Working Papers 20-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    7. Handel, Michael J., 2020. "Job Skill Requirements: Levels and Trends," MPRA Paper 100590, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Crawley, Andrew & Welch, Sarah & Yung, Julieta, 2021. "Improving estimates of job matching efficiency with different measures of unemployment," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    9. Carola Conces Binder, 2021. "Central Bank Communication and Disagreement about the Natural Rate Hypothesis," International Journal of Central Banking, International Journal of Central Banking, vol. 17(2), pages 81-123, June.
    10. Sun, Ting & Bian, Xuezi & Liu, Jianxu & Wang, Rui & Sriboonchitta, Songsak, 2023. "The economic and social effects of skill mismatch in China: A DSGE model with skill and firm heterogeneity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    11. Mary A. Burke, 2015. "The Rhode Island labor market in recovery: where is the skills gap?," Current Policy Perspectives 15-7, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

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