Aim 1: Construct OccLink, a new database of occupations by integrating the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, Selected Characteristics of Occupations, Standard Occupational Classification, Occupational Units, Occupational Information Network, Standard Industrial Classification, North American Industry Classification System, and U.S. Census Occupation and Industry Classifications, with crosswalk codes across different data sources and over different periods to facilitate data linkage and harmonization.
Aim 2: Examine changes in occupational structure, particularly the emergence of new occupations and the decline of obsolete occupations as the US economy evolved between the 1930s and the 2010s, paying close attention to the education and skills required at the occupational level.
The proposed project aims to develop a new data infrastructure (OccLink) that integrates different sources of occupational information and complements data currently available about occupations from the decennial U.S. Census, American Community Survey, and other surveys. The project offers future researchers the ability to utilize longitudinal data from U.S. government archival and administrative sources on occupations, jobs, and workforce (1939-2020). Using the new data, the research team will examine changes in occupational structure, particularly the emergence of new occupations and declines of obsolete occupations as the US economy evolved from the 1930s to the 2000s. Furthermore, the proposed project will examine long-term trends in inequality with regard to changing occupational opportunities for different social, economic, and demographic groups.