Work and the Economy - Polarization in the Workforce (SOCI 1306)

Work and the Economy SOCI 1306 Polarization in the Workforce Before the crisis hit, the kind of occupations that were accessible in the US started to shift, and as was already noted, it hasn't always been simple to realise the American Dream. Factors such as colour, gender, and geography have long influenced the actuality of success. More recently, the amount of high-paying, frequently unionised blue-collar employment accessible has significantly decreased due to the growing outsourcing—or contracting a work or group of occupations to an outside source—of manufacturing jobs to emerging nations. Similar issues have emerged in the white-collar industry as well, as demonstrated by the global technical-support contact centres located in Mumbai, India, and Newfoundland, Canada. These centres outsource a large number of low-level clerical and support employment. As businesses simplify their command structures and sectors continue to consolidate via mergers, there are fewer managerial and supervisory jobs. Jobs for highly educated skilled professionals, like computer programmers, have disappeared abroad. An other factor contributing to the changes in the labour market is workplace automation, which substitutes technology for labour. Many common jobs may now be coded into computers to be completed more quickly and cheaply than by humans. Automation is a good fit for jobs like accountancy, secretarial work, and repetitive assembly line labour. Envision the self-scan checkout aisles at your neighbourhood supermarket. The paid staff are replaced by the automated cashiers attached to the units. It used to take one cashier per aisle to supervise transactions at six or more self-scan lanes, but now days, one cashier can handle several aisles. In certain sectors, the employment market is expanding despite the continuous economic recovery, although this growth is highly polarised. When the labour market becomes polarised, it indicates that there is a divide between the highest and lowest rungs of the employment ladder, with few jobs available for those with intermediate education and skill levels. On the one hand, there has been a significant market for low-skilled, low-wage positions in retail and food service. Conversely, studies indicate that there has been a consistent rise in the need for managers, technicians, and professionals with advanced training in a number of disciplines. These highly specialised jobs typically pay well as well (Autor 2010). An illustration of the class system, an economic hierarchy in which it is possible to travel (both upward and below) between different rungs of the social ladder, is the fact that certain jobs are highly compensated while others are not. The American class system is, at least in theory, an example of a meritocracy, which is an economic system that provides upward mobility for meritorious individuals, usually via skill and hard effort. Functionalist theorists would point out that since hard effort is rewarded in this system, people are motivated to pursue greatness in order to get rewards. A conflict perspective theorist could respond by arguing that, even in meritocracies, hard work is not a guarantee of success because high-paying jobs frequently require higher education or social capital, or the building of a network of contacts and knowledge that will serve as a platform for achieving financial success. We are becoming more and more aware that intelligence and diligence are insufficient. You are not going to get forward in life if you don't know how to take advantage of the proper people, connections, and names. What kinds of employment are in demand in the US given the sheer number of jobs being automated or outsourced? opportunities in forestry and fisheries are decreasing, but opportunities in other markets are growing. These consist of financial services, healthcare, computer and information services, personal care and services, and community and social services. Areas of anticipated increase are shown in the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics graphic below. occupations that are usually well-paying options and that need for a high level of education and training. Particularly, occupations in the healthcare, technology, or trade sectors that call for a formal license or certification typically pay more than those that don't. The Bureau of Labour Statistics states that service employment range widely, from working for the fire department to scooping ice cream (Bureau of Labour Statistics 2019). There is a significant potential salary disparity due to the vast range of training required. The health sector is one of the areas with the highest growth rates by industry as opposed to occupational group (as previously observed). This increase affects all professions, ranging from management-level assisted-living employees to associate-level nurse's aides. Because baby boomers are living longer than any previous generation and will continue to do so, our nation's elder care system—which includes everything from home healthcare nursing to geriatric nutrition—needs to expand to accommodate the growing number of people in this demographic. Notably, there are fewer employment in farming. In the past, those with less education could typically count on obtaining consistent employment in this field, even if it was low-paying. An increasing number of people will find themselves unprepared for the kinds of employment that are accessible when these jobs disappear. The degree of education and training needed to obtain and maintain a job is another anticipated trend in the work market. Higher education levels are associated with faster growth rates, as the following figure illustrates. Jobs requiring a bachelor's degree are expected to expand by 17%, while those with a professional or master's degree may anticipate job growth of 20 and 22 percent, respectively. Conversely, employment requiring a high school education or its equivalent are expected to expand by just 12%, and those requiring less education are expected to expand by 14%. To put it plainly, finding a job will be more challenging without a degree. It should be noted that there will undoubtedly be variances within certain occupational sectors because these forecasts are based on total growth across all employment categories. But as always, the least educated people will also be the least able to realise the American Dream. In the past, the number of employment in the US that require a college degree has increased along with growing educational levels. But since the late 1970s, males have been less likely than women to register in college and to graduate at a rate that is nearly 10% lower. Opportunities for women, minorities, and immigrants have increased as a result of the dearth of male applicants with the education levels required for specialised jobs (Wang 2011).