Despite the completion of seven years of economic recovery, many Americans remain unnerved by the nation’s economic prospects. In many instances, this had produced some unexpected political dynamics.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, economist Jed Kolko analyzed Labor Department projections and Census Bureau demographic data and found that white males, older adults, and the less educated are each more likely to be employed in a segment that’s anticipated to decline over the next decade.
For the economy as a whole, only about eleven percent of Americans works in an occupation that is expected to decline. However, more than fifteen percent of white men who are fifty-five years or older and who have a high school diploma or didn’t finish high school are in segments expected to decline.
Older Americans in general are more likely to be in occupational segments poised to decline in terms of employment opportunity. When one excludes farming, fishing and forestry work, the share of white men in shrinking occupations is highest by a statistically significant margin.
