Some explanation of the "Job-Loss Recovery"


This article has seen some exposure in the Washington Post and Brad Delong's blog, so I'm only putting it out there for folks who haven't already read it there. Groshen and Potter propose that the reason the economy still is shedding jobs, rather than gaining them back, is due to a change in employment patterns in this country. This structural change is from industries where people would get laid off in lean times, rehired in good times, such as heavy industry, automobiles, and durable goods, to services and light industry, where a job lost is a job lost for good. It's quicker to recall laid-off workers than it is to hire new people, and much quicker than creating new jobs.

Has Structural Change Contributed to a Jobless Recovery?

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