The recession may have just complicated and compounded what was already occurring. Generally, jobs are disappearing where there's been a technological advance — "where a human was doing something, now a technology is doing it" — or a change in the way that organizations function, says Hallock. And not only are old-fashioned assembly line jobs on the decline, several white-collar office positions are also in jeopardy.
"There has been some long-term decline in middle-income jobs," says Harry Holzer, Georgetown University economist and co-author of "Where Are All The Good Jobs Going." "Specifically, it's good-paying production and clerical jobs that are disappearing."
