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255,000 N. Carolinians would be in the labor market if more jobs were available
. . .
Over the past year, 6 out of 10 unemployed workers left the labor force, which is the main driver behind the drop in the state’s unemployment rate. The more accurate measure of the number of unemployed which includes missing workers has remained stable since 2010 reflecting the
persistence of joblessness.
A lack of jobs is the primary reason the number of missing workers has surged, not demographic trends such as an increase in retirements. While Governor McCrory and his allies cite a Philadelphia Federal Reserve study that points to retirees as the explanation of the labor force decline, that study is an outlier and relied on data that was not as comprehensive as that used in the other studies.
. . .
Missing Workers and Labor Force Declines are a Big Problem for the State’s Economy
Without steady growth in the labor force the long-term health of the state’s economy and its growth potential will suffer.
When jobless workers get discouraged about finding work and leave the labor force, that not only indicates that the economy is in worse shape than the offi cial unemployment rate and other measures indicate, it is also bad news for the economy overall. Unless the amount each worker produces grows substantially, a decline in the labor force will hold down the potential for the economy to grow. Given that private investment and entrepreneurial activity is also impacted during a recession and slow recovery, the potential for adoption of innovations and technology that can enhance worker productivity is also compromised reducing the potential for each worker to be more productive. It is therefore critical that labor force levels increase over time, particularly when the population is growing. At a more individual level, workers who are unemployed for long stretches are likely to see their skills erode, fi nd it more diffi cult to get a job due to gaps in their employment history and suffer severe fi nancial and health challenges.
This economic scarring can also create hurdles for these workers’ children, who may fall into poverty and find it difficult to move up the economic ladder.
Generating too few jobs for those who want to work remains the primary challenge in North Carolina’s economic recovery. State policymakers have so far failed to address the problem. Instead of investing in proven job creation measures through education and job training and more direct investments in
infrastructure development and subsidized employment, policymakers have pursued tax cuts that will fail to deliver jobs. Given the current state of the workforce and the rise in missing workers, it is critical for policymakers to make sure jobless men and women have the supports they need to keep
looking for work in a job market with too few jobs and that investments truly support job creation.
Over the past year, 6 out of 10 unemployed workers left the labor force, which is the main driver behind the drop in the state’s unemployment rate. The more accurate measure of the number of unemployed which includes missing workers has remained stable since 2010 reflecting the
persistence of joblessness.
A lack of jobs is the primary reason the number of missing workers has surged, not demographic trends such as an increase in retirements. While Governor McCrory and his allies cite a Philadelphia Federal Reserve study that points to retirees as the explanation of the labor force decline, that study is an outlier and relied on data that was not as comprehensive as that used in the other studies.
. . .
Missing Workers and Labor Force Declines are a Big Problem for the State’s Economy
Without steady growth in the labor force the long-term health of the state’s economy and its growth potential will suffer.
When jobless workers get discouraged about finding work and leave the labor force, that not only indicates that the economy is in worse shape than the offi cial unemployment rate and other measures indicate, it is also bad news for the economy overall. Unless the amount each worker produces grows substantially, a decline in the labor force will hold down the potential for the economy to grow. Given that private investment and entrepreneurial activity is also impacted during a recession and slow recovery, the potential for adoption of innovations and technology that can enhance worker productivity is also compromised reducing the potential for each worker to be more productive. It is therefore critical that labor force levels increase over time, particularly when the population is growing. At a more individual level, workers who are unemployed for long stretches are likely to see their skills erode, fi nd it more diffi cult to get a job due to gaps in their employment history and suffer severe fi nancial and health challenges.
This economic scarring can also create hurdles for these workers’ children, who may fall into poverty and find it difficult to move up the economic ladder.
Generating too few jobs for those who want to work remains the primary challenge in North Carolina’s economic recovery. State policymakers have so far failed to address the problem. Instead of investing in proven job creation measures through education and job training and more direct investments in
infrastructure development and subsidized employment, policymakers have pursued tax cuts that will fail to deliver jobs. Given the current state of the workforce and the rise in missing workers, it is critical for policymakers to make sure jobless men and women have the supports they need to keep
looking for work in a job market with too few jobs and that investments truly support job creation.
SOURCE: http://www.ncjustice.org/sites/default/files/BTC%20Brief%20-%20Missing%20Workers.pdf