labor research

Great Opportunities in a Shrinking Industry Sector

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:03:24 -0400

Yesterday it was announced that Fisker Automotive, a company based in Irvine, California, will buy and retool a former GM assembly plant in Wilmington, Delaware, with the goal of manufacturing plug-in hybrid cars. The purchase of the Delaware site will cost about $18 million, and retooling the facility will cost an additional $175 million.

The Status of the Stimulus Plan (2)

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:24:17 -0400

In mid-June, I posted a blog entry about the status of the stimulus plan, which I have been following closely ever since writing a book about it (Great Jobs in the President’s Stimulus Plan). I rushed out this book before the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 had actually been passed by Congress and signed by the president.

The Infrastructure-Manufacturing Connection

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:59:04 -0400

In my recent book 200 Best Jobs for Renewing America, I describe six large fields whose growth will be essential for the United States to remain competitive in the world economy. These fields are education, infrastructure, health care, information and telecommunication technologies, green technologies, and advanced manufacturing.

What's Wrong with GDP

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:31:34 -0400

One of the most remarkable speeches that Robert F. Kennedy made was about what’s wrong with using traditional economic measures as gauges of our success as a society:

What It Takes for a Career to Emerge

Laurence Shatkin — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:47:11 -0400

I have spent most of this month researching and writing about emerging green careers for a book about that subject, and the effort has made me aware of the many factors that must be in place before an emerging career can reach the point where it can be adequately described in a career information resource.

More Than Energy Conservation

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 09:48:22 -0400

As part of my research for a book about green careers, I have been investigating the occupation Weatherization Installers and Technicians. I came upon an interesting paper by two researchers at the National Consumer Law Center that quantifies the societal benefits of weatherization in low-income housing.

New Data on the Glass Ceiling

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:00:17 -0400

A researcher at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management has found evidence that suggests female managers construct their own glass ceiling by underestimating how they are perceived by their associates.

Competing by Collaborating

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 11:37:53 -0400

Recently in this space I’ve written couple of articles about immigration, making reference to the experiences of my grandparents. But the global labor market is now very different than it was a century ago. Although the United States is still a magnet for immigrants, many immigrants later return to their home countries, and some workforce migration even goes in the opposite direction. This week I came across a couple of articles about these phenomena.

Job Loss and Long-Term Earnings

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:47:06 -0400

Perhaps you saw the article in the New York Times this week, “Income Loss Persists Long After Layoffs.” If you missed it, I recommend that you read it, but I warn you that it is depressing news.

Work Experiences of Immigrants

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:48:51 -0400

This week I came upon a study of the importance of networks in the job-seeking efforts of immigrants, and it reminded me of my own grandparents’ experiences as immigrants. It also led me to some research about the entrepreneurial activities of recent immigrants.

Job Loss and Health

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:17:26 -0400

I’ve been interested in the effects of stressful jobs on workers’ health, which I discussed in 150 Best Low-Stress Jobs, and I’ve also been interested in job security, which I wrote about in 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs and again in

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STEM and Science PhDs

Laurence Shatkin — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:23:13 -0400

Recently I was invited by Rich Feller of Colorado State University to give a presentation at a meeting about STEM careers--that is, careers that involve science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Many observers of the American workforce are worried about how our country will stay competitive if our college students continue to move away from these disciplines and instead pursue degrees in business and the humanities.

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Where Will They Pay You the Most? (continued)

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:46:53 -0400

Last week I wrote about some data analysis I had done. I tried to identify instances in which the earnings for a particular occupation in a particular metropolitan area were significantly higher than would be expected from the general level of wage inflation in that area. I devised a formula to measure this and applied it to data from the Occupational Employment Statistics survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Where Will They Pay You the Most?

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 16:50:13 -0400

If you’ve read some of these blogs, you know that I’m always on the lookout for interesting new ways to use data to create occupational information. This week I’m gearing up to write a second edition of 250 Best-Paying Jobs (JIST), and I’m experimenting with ways to use the earnings data collected by the Occupational Employment Statistics survey of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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The Status of the Stimulus Plan

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:15:03 -0400

I was supposed to be a guest on the Today Show earlier this week to speak about job-hunting, specifically the effects on jobs of the stimulus package--the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. But I had to bow out because I came down with a wretched cold. My family followed me as I went through all the Kübler-Ross stages of denial, anger, and so forth, until I had to accept the fact that I was not well enough to appear.

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More on Earnings in Nontraditional Jobs

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:44:31 -0400

Last week I wrote about how women can earn more in a nontraditional job, based on research I did using data from the American Community Survey 2005-07. I looked at the occupations of about 4.6 million women and about 4.3 million men who reported their income, and I found that women in nontraditional occupations (those with 25% or fewer women) had 23.1 percent higher earnings. However, these earnings were less than those of men in the same occupations.

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Earn More in a Nontraditional Job

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 28 May 2009 10:38:17 -0400

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a young woman in search of a good-paying career should consider a nontraditional occupation. Currently I’m researching a book on this subject and decided to check the validity of the claim that women in those jobs will earn more.

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The Gender-Related Wage Gap You Haven't Heard About

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 20 May 2009 08:20:02 -0400

We all know that women earn, on average, less than men in equivalent positions. But it turns out that there’s another wage gap related to gender: Men who have egalitarian attitudes toward gender roles earn less than men with traditional attitudes. This is the finding of an article that was reported last year in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

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Data Is My Business

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 13 May 2009 10:18:39 -0400

Each May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases it earnings estimates for the previous May, derived from the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) survey. I am always delighted to get my hands on a fresh collection of data. Ella Fitzgerald once recorded an LP called “Rhythm is My Business,” so I couldn’t resist calling today’s blog entry “Data is My Business.”

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Infrastructure Gets a Boost

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 06 May 2009 09:26:27 -0400

In my previous posting, I wrote about advanced manufacturing as one of the pillars of our future economy. Perhaps advanced manufacturing is better viewed as an important industry sector, not as a pillar of the economy. But I think nobody will argue with me when I state that the infrastructure is a pillar that supports almost all economic activity.

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Another Pillar of the Economy

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:36:56 -0400

Today marks 100 days of the Obama administration, so I’m going to join the media pack and make a few comments on what we can learn, specifically about careers, from what has happened so far.

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Interests versus Role Models

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 14:53:56 -0400

Recently I wrote a blog about a study of young Europeans in which a majority expressed interest in science and technology, but few intended to pursue a career in that field. I have found a similar poll, this time of teenage Americans, that goes somewhat deeper into the respondents’ thinking about this career option.

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The Pillars of Our Economy

Laurence Shatkin — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:56:09 -0400

I have been blogging from time to time about the President’s recovery package ever since I finished the manuscript for Great Jobs in the President’s Stimulus Plan.

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Very Interesting, But...

Laurence Shatkin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:26:10 -0400

The headline on the article (on the www.Nanowerk.com site) says it all: “Young people in Europe interested in science, but not in scientific careers.” The article reports on http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_239_en.pdf a Gallup poll of some 25,000 young people ages 15 to 25 in all 27 nations of the European Union. The poll found that 67 percent of the respondents were interested in science and technology. Interest was much higher among the males than among the females.

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One American Life

Laurence Shatkin — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 12:17:57 -0400

I’m a big fan of Chicago Public Radio’s program “This American Life,” with Ira Glass. If I miss the broadcast on Sunday (WHYY, Philadelphia), I listen to the podcast later in the week. This week’s program, “Wrong Side of History,” included a segment about a young man’s career choice, and my friend Gloria Berenson wanted to know what my reaction to it was. I thought I’d use this forum to expand on my thoughts.

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