Exploiting long term interindustry demand shifts, this article provides evi
dence that (1) industry-level wages do not respond to industry demand condi
tions; (2) at the industry level, the employment of young workers responds
more to demand shifts than does the employment of experienced workers; and
(3) the postdisplacement wages of displaced workers are strongly affected b
y demand in their predisplacement industries. These findings are consistent
with a model in which worker's investments in industry-specific skills pos
e a barrier to interindustry labor mobility and wages do not respond to spo
t labor market conditions.