When face-to-face interactions become an occupational hazard: Jobs in the time of COVID-19

The vulnerability of jobs to social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has thus far been analyzed through the lens of home-based work. However, as lockdowns ease, activities intensive in face-to-face interactions with consumers will likely be slower to recover as people continue to exercise social distancing precautions. This paper uses data on 900 job titles from the Occupational Information Network (O*NET) database for the United States to demonstrate substantial heterogeneity in the importance of face-to-face interactions across industries, income groups, and gender. First, industries vary in whether they emphasize face-to-face interactions and home-based work and the two do not always go hand-in-hand. Second, occupations that are more intensive in face-to-face interactions are largely concentrated among lower wage deciles. Third, a larger share of women's employment is accounted for by occupations that are intensive in face-to-face interactions. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier B.V.