For its part, technological change has become an increasingly important determinant of employment changes in both manufacturing and services industries, particularly in the second half of the 1980s. It should be noted that the authors measure technological change somewhat indirectly as changes in input-output coefficients. This measurement essentially shows changes in the recipe of intermediate inputs going into an industry's production. The authors argue that the increased importance of knowledge is associated with a shift in the structure of labour demand in favour of skilled workers as measured by the share of white-collar workers in total employment. According to the study, this phenomenon appears to be widespread, occurring within all industrial sectors, and not merely the result of employment shifting towards industries that tend to employ more white-collar workers.
Shares exclude employment in postal services, religious services and public administration.
The increased demand for high-skilled workers has been reflected in the employment and wages of workers with different skills. The authors show that the wages of more experienced and educated workers have increased relative to younger and less-educated workers. In addition, high-skilled workers enjoy higher employment rates and lower unemployment rates. Thus, knowledge is not only increasingly important in determining how industries perform in terms of employment, it also appears to be an increasingly important determinant of how workers succeed on the labour market.