A Database for a Changing Economy

Information about the characteristics of jobs and the individuals who fill them is valuable for career guidance, reemployment counseling, workforce development, human resource management, and other purposes. To meet these needs, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) in 1998 launched the Occupational Information Network (O*NET), which consists of a content model—a framework for organizing occupational data—and an electronic database. The O*NET content model includes hundreds of descriptors of work and workers organized into domains, such as skills, knowledge, and work activities. Data are collected using a classification system that organizes job titles into 1,102 occupations.

The National Center for O*NET Development (the O*NET Center) continually collects data related to these occupations. In 2008, DOL requested the National Academies to review O*NET and consider its future directions. In response, the present volume inventories and evaluates the uses of O*NET; explores the linkage of O*NET with the Standard Occupational Classification System and other data sets; and identifies ways to improve O*NET, particularly in the areas of cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and currency.

Table of Contents

• Front Matter
• Executive Summary
• 1 Introduction
• Part I: Core Elements of O*NET
• 2 The Content Model
• 3 Evolution of the Occupational Classification System
• 4 The Data Collection Program
• 5 The Role of Technology
• Part II: Major Current and Potential Uses of O*NET
• 6 Workforce Development and Career Development
• 7 Human Resource Management
• 8 Disability Determination
• 9 Uses in Research
• Part III: Recommendations
• 10 Recommendations for the Future of O*NET
• Appendixes
• Appendix A: Dissent--Juan I. Sanchez and David H. Autor
• Appendix B: Descriptor Taxonomies Included in the Content Model
• Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Panel Members and Staff
• Committee on National Statistics
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