Measuring Occupational Concentration by Industry

Abstract

[Excerpt] Although some occupations are found in nearly every industry in the United States, others are specific to one or only a few industries. For example, several of the most concentrated occupations in the coal mining industry are found primarily in that industry, and are uncommon outside of the mining and extraction sector. As a result, job mobility for these workers might be extremely limited in the face of an industry downturn, particularly one affecting the extraction industries in general. On the other hand, although over a quarter of computer systems analysts are found in the computer systems design and related services industry, this occupation was distributed relatively evenly across sectors, potentially allowing displaced workers to move more easily into other industries. Understanding the relationship between industry and occupation may provide important insights into workers’ ability to cope with job loss by moving across industries.