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Policymakers and business leaders are confronting two emerging challenges facing the country. One is how advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are changing the nature of work, potentially displacing many workers and widening skills gaps. McKinsey, for example, estimates that 60 percent of all occupations have at least 30 percent of activities that could be automated. A second challenge is that the national trend data often masks areas of deep and persistent distress. For example, research from Economic Innovation Group revealed stark placed-based differences in economic well-being. Similar place-based patterns have emerged with respect to economic mobility, deaths of despair, and the opioid crisis.
The intersection of these two trends is the topic of a new study titled: America at Work: A National Mosaic and Roadmap for Tomorrow. The study was conducted by Walmart using methodologies and data from the McKinsey Global Institute to provide a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the complexities different communities face. It analyzed data from 3000 counties and divided them into eight community “archetypes”:
the nation’s major metropolitan areas and their immediate suburbs.
Thethe ring of suburbs that surround urban centers.
smaller metropolitan areas that stand economically on their own and have a large portion of white-collar jobs.
: what is often referred to as “rural America.”
: areas that have suffered from the loss of manufacturing and mining jobs.
Areas that serve as distribution points and commercial centers for surrounding rural areas, located mostly in the West.
areas that tend to be located far from major cities but serve as wealthy enclaves and tourist destinations.
rural areas that are capitalizing on their natural resources, such as oil, gas, or gold.
The report suggests six responses: creating new jobs, retraining and upskilling, boosting mobility in the labor market, building and maintaining infrastructure, modernizing the social safety net, and strengthening education. This policy playbook is useful in helping communities navigate not only the economic shocks created by automation but also those brought about by trade and globalization.
Many of these ideas are similar to those expanded upon in the bipartisan report prepared by AEI, Brookings, and Opportunity America — Work, Skills, Community: Restoring Opportunity for the Working Class. They include empowering communities to harness the catalytic capital available through the new federal Opportunity Zone program to help with job creation and community improvement. Additionally, creating portable benefits to cover workers employed in the independent and gig economy could provide greater financial stability. Finally, occupational licensing often locks workers in place and creates unnecessary barriers, which is why Arizona’s universal licensing recognition backed by Gov. Ducey is so promising.
The right mix of policy solutions will depend on a community’s unique assets and challenges. Therefore, we must first have an accurate picture of American communities to find the right solutions. This is why the America at Work report is so valuable in helping us to better understand our nation of neighborhoods.
The right mix of policy solutions for America’s neighborhoods will depend on a community’s unique assets and challenges. Therefore, we must first have an accurate picture of American communities to find the right solutions.
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