Jobs will be the theme of this election season. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that unemployment will not fall to acceptable levels for years. But how much will be lost in lower or forgone wages? The toll, as calculated by John Schmitt and Dean Baker, is shocking.

Based on a survey of the literature, assesses the strength of the evidence regarding the effects of labour market institutions and regulations on unemployment. Considers the effects of employment protection, trade union density, bargaining coordination, unemployment benefits, the labour tax...

In 1982, the United States experienced the highest annual unemployment rate since the Great Depression – 9.7 percent. In principle, that rate is directly comparable to the 8.1 percent seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for February 2009, and suggests that current unemployment is still not...

A rapidly expanding empirical literature has addressed the widely accepted claim that employment-unfriendly labor market institutions explain the pattern of unemployment across countries. The main culprits are held to be protective institutions, namely unemployment benefit entitlements,...

The conventional wisdom in the United States is that the European model is failing. There are not enough jobs for those who want them. But these two economists paint a different pictureâin fact, an eyeopening one.

We are by no mean out of the woods yet. How much help does the economy need? Here is a comprehensive plan for action.

Even today, some observers insist the economy cannot be so bad if the unemployment rate is still below levels reached in 1982. But, in fact, the labor force is on average much older now, and that should mean more people are working. If we adjust the labor force for age, how are we faring? These...

The strong rise in the U.S. stock market since the spring and the return to positive economic growth in the third quarter of this year have created a consensus among economists that the Great Recession is very likely over. Unfortunately, the end of the official recession will have little visible...

This report examines one major source of bias in the yearly Current Population Survey -- nonresponse rates. It shows evidence of systematic undercounting due to the disproportionately high nonresponse rate from individuals who are less likely to be employed than the general population.