24
The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the
Labor Market
David Deming
Harvard University and NBER
October 2016
Source: Acemoglu and Autor (2011)
Slowdown in demand for college graduates
Source: Beaudry, Green and Sand (2014)
STEM majors have highest employment and earnings...
....yet employment growth for STEM jobs has stalled.
-.2 0 .2 .4 .6
Engineers (All)
Drafters And Surveyors
Engineering And Science Technicians
Architects
Physical Scientists
Biological Scientists
Pilots/Air Traffic Control
Math/Stats/Actuaries
Medical Scientists
Operations Researchers
Comp. Sci./Programming/Tech Support
STEM Occupations
Growth of non-STEM professional jobs has accelerated
-.2 0 .2 .4 .6
Writers, Editors & Reporters
Marketing, Advertising & Pr
Arts & Entertainment, Athletes
Social Scientists And Urban Planners
Dentists
Dental Hygienists
Pharmacists
Legal Assistants & Paralegals
Physicians' Assistants
Other Business Support
Lawyers & Judges
College Instructors
Physicians
Social Workers, Counselors & Clergy
Economists & Survey Researchers
Accounting And Finance
Health Therapists
Health Technicians
Nurses
Managers (All)
Teachers (K-12)
All Other Managerial or Professional Occupations
This �gure was created in 2010!
Growing Importance of Social Skills
Computers are substituting for tasks of rapidly increasing
cognitive complexity. What tasks do computers
complement? Can everything be automated?
• Social interaction
• Skill in social settings is based on tacit knowledge and evolved
over thousand of years - we don't know �the rules� (Autor 2015)
• Theory of mind
Growing Importance of Social Skills
Computers are substituting for tasks of rapidly increasing
cognitive complexity. What tasks do computers
complement? Can everything be automated?
• Social interaction
• Skill in social settings is based on tacit knowledge and evolved
over thousand of years - we don't know �the rules� (Autor 2015)
• Theory of mind
Growing Importance of Social Skills
Computers are substituting for tasks of rapidly increasing
cognitive complexity. What tasks do computers
complement? Can everything be automated?
• Social interaction
• Skill in social settings is based on tacit knowledge and evolved
over thousand of years - we don't know �the rules� (Autor 2015)
• Theory of mind
Growing Importance of Social Skills
Computers are substituting for tasks of rapidly increasing
cognitive complexity. What tasks do computers
complement? Can everything be automated?
• Social interaction
• Skill in social settings is based on tacit knowledge and evolved
over thousand of years - we don't know �the rules� (Autor 2015)
• Theory of mind
Source: National Survey of Colleges and Employers (2015)
Source: National Survey of Colleges and Employers (2015)
Employment growth for �high math, high social� jobs...-.0
50
.05
Cha
nge
in E
mpl
oym
ent S
hare
Rel
ativ
e to
198
0
1980 1990 2000 2010
High Math, High Social High Social, Low Math
Low Social, High Math Low Social, Low Math
Occupational Task Intensity based on 1998 O*NETSources: 1980-2000 Census, 2005-2013 ACS
1980 to 2012Relative Changes in Employment Share by Occupation Task Intensity
and the same for wages....0
.1.2
.3Pe
rcen
t Cha
nge
in R
eal H
ourly
Wag
e R
elat
ive
to 1
980
1980 1990 2000 2010
High Math, High Social High Social, Low Math
Low Social, High Math Low Social, Low Math
Occupational Task Intensity based on 1998 O*NETSources: 1980-2000 Census, 2005-2013 ACS
1980 to 2012Relative Change in Real Hourly Wages by Occupation Task Intensity
How do we explain the success of STEM majors?
Employers Want Both Broad Knowledge and Specific Skills
Source: Hart Research Associates, It Takes More Than a Major (2013).
Three implications
1. �Cognitive� jobs that don't require social interaction are
disappearing. Cog + social jobs are thriving.
2. Speci�c skills matter in the short-run. But they depreciate
rapidly.
3. A successful career arc requires transferable skills.
3.1 You can call them �soft skills�. For me this term highlights the
limits of our understanding.
Three implications
1. �Cognitive� jobs that don't require social interaction are
disappearing. Cog + social jobs are thriving.
2. Speci�c skills matter in the short-run. But they depreciate
rapidly.
3. A successful career arc requires transferable skills.
3.1 You can call them �soft skills�. For me this term highlights the
limits of our understanding.
Three implications
1. �Cognitive� jobs that don't require social interaction are
disappearing. Cog + social jobs are thriving.
2. Speci�c skills matter in the short-run. But they depreciate
rapidly.
3. A successful career arc requires transferable skills.
3.1 You can call them �soft skills�. For me this term highlights the
limits of our understanding.
Three implications
1. �Cognitive� jobs that don't require social interaction are
disappearing. Cog + social jobs are thriving.
2. Speci�c skills matter in the short-run. But they depreciate
rapidly.
3. A successful career arc requires transferable skills.
3.1 You can call them �soft skills�. For me this term highlights the
limits of our understanding.
