Overview

We study the industries that comprise Appalachian labor markets, the jobs these industries provide, and the skills required for these jobs. Our work uses individual-level Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) data and occupation-specific O*NET data to understand the skill content of labor in Appalachian communities. We construct an index of skills for each occupation and then aggregate this to the PUMA level. The result is a PUMA level index that characterizes the skill content of workers in Appalachia. Typifying the current skill endowment of workers in Appalachia will help us understand how a transition away from the current industrial mix towards more green industries, with potentially new skill content, will affect the labor market of these rural communities.  

Teaser Video

Zoom Link

 

Project Website

 

Fellow

Timothy Pierce 

Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics 

 

 

  

Interns

Ryan Jacobs

Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics  

 

 

 

Austin Burcham 

Virginia Tech, Computational Modeling and Data Analytics

 

 

 

Yang Cheng 

Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics 

 

 

 

Mentors

Dr. Anubhab Gupta

Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics 

Dr. Susan Chen 

Virginia Tech, Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics