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What skills pay more? The changing demand and return to skills for professional workers

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Listed:
  • Josten, Cecily
  • Krause, Helen
  • Lordan, Grace
  • Yeung, Brian

Abstract

Technology is disrupting labor markets. We analyze the demand and reward for skills at occupation and state level across two time periods using job postings. First, we use principal components analysis to derive nine skills groups: ‘collaborative leader’, ‘interpersonal & organized’, ‘big data’, ‘cloud computing’, ‘programming’, ‘machine learning’, ‘research’, ‘math’ and ‘analytical’. Second, we comment on changes in the price and demand for skills over time. Third, we analyze non-linear returns to all skills groups and their interactions. We find that ‘collaborative leader’ skills become significant over time and that legacy data skills are replaced over time by innovative ones.

Suggested Citation

  • Josten, Cecily & Krause, Helen & Lordan, Grace & Yeung, Brian, 2024. "What skills pay more? The changing demand and return to skills for professional workers," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 121450, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    • Handle: RePEc:ehl:lserod:121450
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    personality traits; agreeableness; Big Five; labor market; earnings; gender wage gap;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J50 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor-Management Relations, Trade Unions, and Collective Bargaining - - - General

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