Work

No Longer Qualified? Changes in the Supply and Demand for Skills within Occupations

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Although labor market mismatch often refers to imbalances between supply and demand across occupations, mismatch within occupations can arise when skill requirements change rapidly, with important consequences for workers and the labor market. Using 200 million US online job postings, the authors show educational upskilling varied considerably by occupation during the Great Recession, persisted well beyond the initial recovery, and was correlated with rising demand for software skills. Developing an adjusted mismatch index, they demonstrate how the educational composition of vacancies becomes misaligned with that of unemployed workers within occupations, decreasing aggregate matching efficiency. Among occupations with persistent educational upskilling, the authors document lower job-finding rates for noncollege workers, suggesting rapidly changing educational requirements create a moving target for unemployed workers. Although they do not examine non-educational upskilling, the findings help reconcile prior studies showing little evidence of labor market mismatch with employer reports of skilled worker shortages after the Great Recession.

Source: Industrial and Labor Relations Review

DOI: 10.1177/00197939251413182

Authors: Alicia Sasser Modestino, Mary A. Burke, Shahriar Sadighi, Rachel Sederberg, Tomer Stern, Bledi Taska

Institutions: Northeastern University, Amazon (United States), Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Language: English

Topic: Labor market dynamics and wage inequality

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities, Quality education

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650