Leaner, More Skilled U.S. Manufacturing Workforce

This report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York analyzes the long-term upgrading of skills in the U.S. manufacturing workforce since the peak of manufacturing employment in the early 1980s. The authors quantify the growth in high-skill manufacturing jobs and show that skill upgrading has been occurring across industries, even in those experiencing employment losses, and in all parts of the country, even in regions where employment losses have been severe. They also find some evidence that the industries and states that have had the strongest growth in high-skill jobs have had better overall employment performance.