Local and National Concentration Trends in Jobs and Sales: The Role of Structural Transformation
November 2023
Working Paper Number:
CES-23-59
Abstract
National U.S. industrial concentration rose between 1992-2017. Simultaneously, the Herfindhahl Index of local (six-digit-NAICS by county) employment concentration fell. This divergence between national and local employment concentration is due to structural transformation. Both sales and employment concentration rose within industry-by-county cells. But activity shifted from concentrated Manufacturing towards relatively un-concentrated Services. A stronger between-sector shift in employment relative to sales explains the fall in local employment concentration. Had sectoral employment shares remained at their 1992 levels, average local employment concentration would have risen by 9% by 2017 rather than falling by 7%.
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:
market,
manufacturing,
industrial,
sale,
growth,
employ,
employed,
labor,
sector,
establishment,
employment estimates,
sectoral,
wholesale,
industry concentration,
gdp,
concentration,
labor markets,
employment trends
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:
Standard Industrial Classification,
Bureau of Labor Statistics,
National Bureau of Economic Research,
National Income and Product Accounts,
Longitudinal Business Database,
Retail Trade,
Economic Census,
Wholesale Trade,
North American Industry Classification System,
Sloan Foundation,
Herfindahl Hirschman Index,
Census Bureau Disclosure Review Board,
Disclosure Review Board,
Federal Statistical Research Data Center
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