abstract: 'Using data from O{*}NET, we construct two measures of an occupation''s

  potential exposure to social distancing measures: (i) the ability to

  conduct that job from home and (ii) the degree of physical proximity to

  others the job requires. After validating these measures with comparable

  measures from ATUS as well as realized work-from-home rates during the

  pandemic, we employ the measures to study the characteristics of workers

  in these types of jobs. Our results show that workers in

  low-work-from-home and high-physical-proximity jobs are more

  economically vulnerable across various measures constructed from the CPS

  and PSID: they are less educated, of lower income, have fewer liquid

  assets relative to income, and are more likely renters. Consistent with

  the idea that high physical proximity or low work-from-home occupations

  were more exposed to the Coronavirus shock, we show that the types of

  workers predicted to be employed in them experienced greater declines in

  employment during the pandemic. We conclude by comparing the aggregate

  employment losses in these occupations to their employment losses in the

  2008 recession, and find evidence that these occupations were

  disproportionately exposed to the pandemic shock, and not just comprised

  of more cyclically sensitive workers.'
affiliation: 'Pilossoph, L (Corresponding Author), Fed Reserve Bank New York, New
  York, NY 10045 USA.

  Mongey, Simon; Weinberg, Alexander, Univ Chicago, Kenneth C Griffin Dept Econ, Chicago,
  IL 60637 USA.

  Mongey, Simon, NBER, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA.

  Pilossoph, Laura, Fed Reserve Bank New York, New York, NY 10045 USA.'
author: Mongey, Simon and Pilossoph, Laura and Weinberg, Alexander
author-email: 'mongey@uchicago.edu

  pilossoph@gmail.com

  weinberga@uchicago.edu'
author_list:
- family: Mongey
  given: Simon
- family: Pilossoph
  given: Laura
- family: Weinberg
  given: Alexander
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1007/s10888-021-09487-6
earlyaccessdate: AUG 2021
eissn: 1573-8701
esi-highly-cited-paper: Y
esi-hot-paper: N
files: []
issn: 1569-1721
journal: JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
keywords: 'Coronavirus; Employment; Inequality; Social policy; Occupations;

  Demographics'
language: English
month: SEP
number: 3, SI
number-of-cited-references: '18'
pages: 509-526
papis_id: 3a8ff05cef26c88c8f6de7f6b01cc9f3
ref: Mongey2021whichworkers
times-cited: '78'
title: Which workers bear the burden of social distancing?
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000680388900001
usage-count-last-180-days: '2'
usage-count-since-2013: '12'
volume: '19'
web-of-science-categories: Economics
year: '2021'