American families are experiencing the effects of the "Great Recession." Most of the job losses are accruing to men, so families may find it strategic for wives to enter the labor force, or increase their work hours. We consider this possibility using the May 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey, and compare findings to May 2004 and 2005 data,…

The Great Recession left a crater in the labor market that has been devastating for unemployed Americans of all ages. After more than two years of unemployment at well over 8%, there is a hole of more than 11 million jobs, with average spells of unemployment lasting nearly nine months. The weak labor market has been particularly tough on young…

It will take years for the labor market to recover from the damage induced by the recent recession. While monthly job losses almost surely peaked in 2009, the unemployment rate will likely peak in 2010 (CBO 2010a). In April, the unemployment rate reached 9.9% and the overall economic cause is simple: firms are not hiring quickly enough, as…

Julian Josephson finds the environmental employment picture bleak, but far from hopeless. He looks at training and future trends, and lists a number of leads aimed at helping the unemployed. (Author/BT)

The Emergency Employment Act, despite weaknesses, may represent a first step toward a needed permanent public service employment program. Or it could be a diversion and a destructive caricature of job creation. (DM)

The most common economic reasons for part-time employment during recessions are cutbacks in weekly hours due to slack work and failure to find full-time positions. Each is characteristically distinct and illustrates different underlying labor market problems. (JOW)

An attempt was made in this study to clarify the concept of structural unemployment, defined as the amount of unemployment (less minimum frictional and seasonal unemployment) that remains at the level of demand which is consistent with general price stability. A principle objective of the study was to examine in some detail the changes in the…

This testimony, before a public hearing of the New York City Commission on Human Rights, concludes that, although education is important, it clearly is not a panacea for the problems of blacks, it is stated: statistical analyses are interpreted as suggesting that a high school education is more necessary among blacks, than among whites, to escape…

A study was conducted to examine why black youth unemployment has increased and participation rates decreased. The study was conducted in three parts. The first employs 1960 and 1970 census data to examine the impact of local labor market structure and changes in the structure upon the employment growth of black and white youth. The second part…

A coordinated approach to attain full employment in Hawaii remains a priority need in governmental policy. Manpower problems which began to mount after 1970 were compounded by fuel and material shortages in 1974. The report urges that adequate policies now be formulated to meet the problems. It recommends the adoption of a State policy which…

To examine the impact of rising wage inequality on lifetime wage growth, a study compared the wage mobility experienced by two cohorts of young white men from the National Longitudinal Surveys. The original cohort entered the labor market in the mid-1960s at the end of the economic boom and was followed through the end of the 1970s. The recent…

The United States is a labor surplus society, one with a persistent shortage of jobs. This labor surplus--manifested in excessively and persistently high unemployment--will continue through the 1980s. The existence of a persistent job shortage, resulting in a labor surplus of four to six million unemployed workers without a constructive economic…

The study derives a model of the unemployment insurance (UI) system and its relationship to the labor market, estimates it with data from the Detroit Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area, and evaluates its potential use to forecast UI benefit amounts, UI insured unemployment, and UI exhaustions. It further uses the model to analyze policy issues…

Written under a contract with the National Commission for Manpower Policy, this book contains eight chapters (each by a separate author) intended to aid in charting a national employment strategy and assessing the goal of full employment. Three main themes that pervade the book are (1) the responsibility of the federal government to create jobs,…