Slip and Drift in Labor Statistics Since 2007
Professor Clifford Thies publishes article in the Econ Journal Watch
Trends in employment, cohabitation, and leisure activities of less educated males, out of school, aged 21 to 30 reveals decreases in employment and marriage, and increases in living with parents or other close relatives, and in playing video-games.
– Eldon R. Lindsay Professor of Economics and Finance Clifford Thies, Ph.D.
Dr. Thies’ paper, “Slip and Drift in Labor Statistics Since 2007,” draws attention to recent trends concerning statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor. One is a slip in labor force participation even after controlling for demographic changes in the population. Another is some provisional indication that the official unemployment rate is drifting apart from other measures of the performance of the labor force. Economists should make greater use of additional sources of data on the labor market. Thies offers some reasons to be concerned with effects of long-term unemployment and moral effects, beyond lost output.
Read the paper in its entirety directly on the Econ Journal Watch website (PDF).
