After a decade in which wages and employment fell precipitously in low-skill occupations and expanded in high …-skill occupations, the shape of U.S. earnings and job growth sharply polarized in the 1990s. Employment shares and relative earnings … rose in both low and high-skill jobs, leading to a distinct U-shaped relationship between skill levels and employment and …

Temporary-help jobs offer rapid entry into paid employment, but they are typically brief and it is unknown whether they … foster longer term employment. We utilize the unique structure of Detroit's welfare-to- work program to identify the effect … diminish subsequent earnings and employment outcomes among participants. In contrast, job placements with direct-hire employers …