Most economists maintain that the labor market in the United States is 'tight' because unemployment rates are low. They …, prior to that, real wages had been stagnant for some time. We show that unemployment is not key to understanding wage … formation in the USA and hasn't been since the Great Recession. Instead, we show rates of under-employment (the percentage of …

Unemployment is notoriously difficult to predict. In previous studies, once country fixed effects are added to panel … estimates, few variables predict changes in unemployment rates. Using panel data for 29 European countries - Austria; Belgium … predict changes in the unemployment rate 12 months in advance based on individuals' fears of unemployment, their perceptions …