The Labor Reserve and the Skill Debate

Competing assertions abound about changes in the skill structure of wage labor. One claims that workplace changes do not necessarily lead to a general deskilling, but enhance skill levels for certain categories of wage labor; another, that such changes contribute to a general deskilling of the paid workforce. Despite having been the focus of much research, these competing assertions remain unresolved. Braverman's discussion of the labor reserve and its pattern of inclusion into the paid workforce promises one possible resolution. Incorporation of a sizable proportion of female workers from the latent labor reserve negated a trend towards an increased proportion of skilled workers in the U.S. paid workforce from 1950 to 1987. Implications of the particular pattern of inclusion and exclusion of this labor reserve are discussed in terms of the debate surrounding the deskilling and reskilling of wage labor in general

Deskilling · Economic growth · Economics · Labour economics · Wage · Work (physics) · Workforce · Employment and Welfare Studies · Labor market dynamics and wage inequality · Labor Movements and Unions

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