Work

Disentangling structural change, servitization, and skill-biased change

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: This paper analyzes three key labor market trends – structural change, servitization, and skill-biased change – using German data from 1975 to 2017. Through a decomposition analysis, we discern their individual impacts on employment shifts, revealing their distinct roles in the German labor market’s evolution. Servitization and skill-biased change significantly influence employment growth alongside structural change. Surprisingly, for instance, structural change accounted for only two-thirds of job losses in the manufacturing sector. Further analysis uncovers more detailed patterns across tasks, firm types, and regions. • We jointly analyze structural change, servitization, and skill- biased change. • Servitization and skill-biased change significantly influence employment growth alongside structural change. • Structural change accounted for only two-thirds of job losses in the manufacturing sector. • The incorporation of tasks reveals distinct trends such as deroutinization. • Further analysis uncovers variation in the trends’ intensity across local labor markets.

Source: Labour Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.labeco.2025.102778

Authors: Dominik Boddin, Thilo Kroeger

Institutions: Deutsche Bundesbank, German Institute for Economic Research

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Decent work and economic growth

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,240