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US Employment Inequality in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Steven M. Fazzari

    (Washington University in St. Louis)

  • Ella Needler

    (Washington University in St. Louis)

Abstract

This article compares inequality in US employment across social groups in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 pandemic. We develop an inequality measure that captures both how much employment declines during a recession and the persistence of those declines. The results show a significant shift of job loss from men in the Great Recession to women in the COVID-19 lockdown. White workers fare better than other racial/ethnic groups in both recessions. Black and Hispanic women are hit especially hard in the COVID-19 pandemic. With our job loss measure, less educated workers had modestly worse outcomes in the Great Recession. However, during COVID-19, less educated workers suffer much more severe employment consequences than more educated groups. We discuss long-term effects of employment inequality and how these findings are relevant to debates about policy responses.

Suggested Citation

  • Steven M. Fazzari & Ella Needler, 2021. "US Employment Inequality in the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic," Working Papers Series inetwp154, Institute for New Economic Thinking.
    • Handle: RePEc:thk:wpaper:inetwp154
    DOI: 10.36687/inetwp154
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    File URL: https://doi.org/10.36687/inetwp154
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    Cited by:

    1. Zimpelmann, Christian & Gaudecker, Hans-Martin von & Holler, Radost & Janys, Lena & Siflinger, Bettina M., 2021. "Drivers of Working Hours and Household Income Dynamics during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the Netherlands," IZA Discussion Papers 14382, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Zimpelmann, Christian & Gaudecker, Hans-Martin von & Holler, Radost & Janys, Lena & Siflinger, Bettina, 2021. "Hours and income dynamics during the Covid-19 pandemic: The case of the Netherlands," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Nelli, Linnea & Virgillito, Maria Enrica, 2023. "More than a She-recession: Long-term feminization and short-term pandemic effects," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1291, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    4. Baier-Fuentes, Hugo & Andrade-Valbuena, Nelson A. & Huertas Gonzalez-Serrano, Maria & Gaviria-Marin, Magaly, 2023. "Bricolage as an effective tool for the survival of owner-managed SMEs during crises," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    5. Leonardo Carnut & Lucas Uback & Áquilas Mendes, 2023. "Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Cooled Down or Stimulated the Countertendencies of Capital? A Critical Review," Economies, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Employment; Unemployment; Inequality; Great Recession; COVID-19;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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