It’s an issue progressives and libertarians can agree on. It has unique potential to help service workers at a moment when many of those professions have been upended. And it just got some attention from the White House.
“Occupational licensing reform” may be the most awkwardly-named, little-discussed labor topic in the American economy today.
The idea is simple: the number of occupations for which an American worker must be licensed has exploded, to nearly 30% of all jobs now, up from 5% in the 1950s. That throws up barriers to entry, crimps competition, and keeps workers less mobile. Examples include service jobs such as cosmetology, floral arranging, tooth-whitening and others.
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