Changes in Unemployment Duration and Labor Force Attachment / Katharine G. Abraham, Robert Shimer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abraham, Katharine G.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Shimer, Robert.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8513.

NBER working paper series no. w8513

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.

Summary:

This paper accounts for the observed increase in unemployment duration relative to the unemployment rate in the U.S. over the past thirty years, typified by the record low level of short-term unemployment. We show that part of the increase is due to changes in how duration is measured, a consequence of the 1994 Current Population Survey redesign. Another part is due to the passage of the baby boomers into their prime working years. After accounting for these shifts, most of the remaining increase in unemployment duration relative to the unemployment rate is concentrated among women, whose unemployment rate has fallen sharply in the last two decades while their unemployment duration has increased. Using labor market transition data, we show that this is a consequence of the increase in women's labor force attachment.

Notes:

Print version record

October 2001.