ABSTRACT
America’s workforce has been undergoing a structural transformation. Informational technologies of the New Economy are gaining in importance, whereas routine manufacturing is on a decline. In this New Economy, on the demand side, there is a growing need for highly trained technicians that are skilled in the vagaries of the digital economy. This requirement for digital and telecommunication jobs makes the demand for skilled technicians of the nation’s younger creative class high. America’s job creation deficit is inherent to creative destruction of outmoded jobs. There is a churning of an overabundance of unskilled workers who are tied to the old industrial economy and too many potential job seekers with too few job openings available. Consequently, as discussed later, there is an occupational opportunity gap that is associated with a spatial mismatch of skills and capabilities within the American workforce. Thus, those who possess highly educated skill sets are the winners, whereas those who are essentially unskilled and undereducated are left behind.
