Skills and Future of Work
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As nations engage in a race for global advantage in innovation, ITIF champions a new policy paradigm that ensures businesses and national economies can compete successfully by spurring public and private investment in foundational areas such as research, skills, and 21st century infrastructure. Our research on skills and the future of work covers skill-building through science, technology, engineering, and math education; use of technology in primary and secondary school; higher education reform; innovations such as massive open online courses; and incumbent worker-training policies.

Publications and Events
March 27, 2023|Blogs
Each Industrial Robot Installed in Recent Years Created Between 13 and 16 Jobs
From 2005 to 2016, economists Jon Chung and Yong Suk Lee found that, while robots initially led to lower employment and wages for affected workers, that trend reversed as firms and workers adjusted to the broader adoption of robots in production.
March 13, 2023|Blogs
Fact of the Week: The Share of Job Postings in the US Allowing Remote and Hybrid Work Arrangements Has More Than Tripled Since 2019
The share of job postings in the United States saying new employees could work from home at least one day per week increased from about 4 percent in 2019 to 14 percent in early 2023.
March 1, 2023|Reports & Briefings
Industry Disruption Isn’t Accelerating; It’s Shifting to the Physical World
Defending Digital Series, No. 15: While ChatGPT and generative artificial intelligence have great potential, predictions of ever-increasing digital disruption thus far have proven to be false. Looking ahead, the most significant societal shifts won’t be driven by digital technology; they will stem from the demands of the physical world.
February 13, 2023|Reports & Briefings
The Case for Immersive Tech in Apprenticeship Programs
Immersive technologies have already proved to be useful in supplementing classroom education and on-the-job training. Those successes underscore how implementing the technology can bolster the effectiveness of apprenticeship programs in the United States.
January 23, 2023|Blogs
Fact of the Week: 36 Percent of Online Households Making $50,000 or Less Are Classified As Having Low Digital Skills
A national survey of households making $50,000 or less, all with at least some form of online connectivity, classified 36 percent of respondents as having low digital skills. 39 percent were in the high digital skills category.
December 12, 2022|Podcasts
Podcast: Measuring the Whole Spectrum of Mathematics Achievement, With Richard Rusczyk
Teaching students to combine basic ideas to solve novel, difficult problems is imperative to lay a foundation for STEM pursuits.
December 9, 2022|Testimonies & Filings
Comments to the US Labor Department Regarding the Proposed Rescission of the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule
Rescinding the 2021 rule without a clearer, more modern framework to replace it risks misclassifying workers in the fast-growing gig economy.
September 30, 2022|Blogs
Oops: The Predicted 47 Percent of Job Loss From AI Didn’t Happen
It’s been nine years since Oxford professors Frey and Osborne’s dystopian forecast came out, so it’s worth looking at what happened to U.S. jobs with the increase of new technologies.
September 19, 2022|Reports & Briefings
How the IT Sector Powers the US Economy
The information technology (IT) sector makes an outsized contribution to the U.S. economy as a leading exporter that creates high-paying jobs, including for non-college-educated workers, while producing highly innovative products and services that drive broad-based growth, counteract inflation, and improve people’s quality of life.
August 5, 2022|Blogs
It’s Not Up for Debate. Remote and Hybrid Are the Future of Work—Even for Federal Employees
Though telework presents unique challenges, particularly in cybersecurity, Congress and the federal government should be thoughtful in its adoption, not obstinate in accessing its benefits just because an opposing party’s administration has made it a priority.