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Employment Growth in America

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Employment Growth in America
What Determines Where Good Jobs Are Created?

By Christopher H. Wheeler
Economist
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Waiters and other workers in the personal service field were among those considered in this look at what promotes the growth of high- and low-paying jobs. (Photos by Dennis Caldwell)

Surveys often find that, among the many issues Americans deem important for the current and future well-being of the country, job growth ranks near the top.1 Employment, after all, confers enormous benefits to individuals, both economic (e.g., jobs provide an income) and otherwise (e.g., employment gives workers a sense of purpose and satisfaction) and, subsequently, to their communities.

Jobs, however, are heterogeneous in terms of quality. Some offer generous compensation and favorable working conditions, such as flexible hours and pleasant work environments. Others do not. Ideally, we would like to see job growth consist entirely of desirable employment opportunities. However, since that is an unlikely outcome, we would at least like to be able to promote as much good job growth as possible.

What, then, underlies the growth of good jobs? This article attempts to sketch a partial answer to this question by exploring the growth of high- and low-wage jobs across a sample of more than 200 U.S. metropolitan areas between 1980 and 2000.2 ...FULL STORY