Are Jobs Less Secure Today?
1 September 2006
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Thomas Frank argues that the modern American economy harms ordinary workers ("Rendezvous With Oblivion," Sept. 1). He grounds this argument in part upon the widespread belief that Americans today have less job security than they enjoyed during "liberalism's" golden era.
This belief isn't supported by the evidence. Economist Ann Huff Stevens finds in a recent paper* that job security for men today is little changed from what it was in 1969. Specifically, "In 1969, average tenure in the longest job for males aged 58-62 was 21.9 years. In 2002, the comparable figure was 21.4 years. Just over half of men ending their careers in 1969 had been with a single employer for at least 20 years; the same is true in 2002."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* "The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same: Trends in Long-term Employment in the United States, 1969-2002," National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 11878: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w11878
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Thomas Frank argues that the modern American economy harms ordinary workers ("Rendezvous With Oblivion," Sept. 1). He grounds this argument in part upon the widespread belief that Americans today have less job security than they enjoyed during "liberalism's" golden era.
This belief isn't supported by the evidence. Economist Ann Huff Stevens finds in a recent paper* that job security for men today is little changed from what it was in 1969. Specifically, "In 1969, average tenure in the longest job for males aged 58-62 was 21.9 years. In 2002, the comparable figure was 21.4 years. Just over half of men ending their careers in 1969 had been with a single employer for at least 20 years; the same is true in 2002."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* "The More Things Change, The More They Stay the Same: Trends in Long-term Employment in the United States, 1969-2002," National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 11878: http://papers.nber.org/papers/w11878
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Thursday May 17, 2007 at 3:52pm