Using a classification of occupations to describe age,sex, and time differences in employment patterns

Employment data from the 1960 and 1970 censuses were organized using Holland's occupational classification to examine age, sex, and level differences in employment, and to detect changes over the 10-year period. Data were organized in terms of both kind and level of work. Arranging information about the occupational structure of the workforce in terms of a classification that parallels the way psychologists describe people facilitates some psychological interpretations of employment patterns. For example, realistic work is becoming relatively less common and the sexual composition of the occupational categories may be changing. The results provide structured information about the workforce and its changing nature that can be communicated to people planning their careers, personnel workers and counselors, and to government agencies and planners.