UNU-MERIT Working Papers

Working Paper #2017-003

Impact of the Great Recession on industry unemployment: a 1976-2011 comparison

Yelena Takhtamanova & Eva Sierminska #2017-003 PDF

This paper studies the mechanisms driving the persistently high
unemployment rate during the last recession and mild recovery. Previous
studies have examined the demographic aspect of the recession. We focus
on specific industries. Consequently, we propose a methodology to
decompose changes in the unemployment rate into worker inflows and
outflows across industry groups and outline the unique characteristics
of the latest recession (including examining cyclical and structural
forces). We use harmonized-reclassified industry data for 1976-2011 in
the United States, which allows us to make comparisons previously not
possible.

Keywords
  • Unemployment
  • Worker Flows
  • Job Finding Rate
  • Separation Rate
  • Industry
JEL codes
  • J11
  • J62

Cite this as

APA 7th ed.

Takhtamanova, Y., & Sierminska, E. (2017). Impact of the Great Recession on industry unemployment: a 1976-2011 comparison (UNU-MERIT Working Paper No. 2017-003). UNU-MERIT. https://unu-merit.nl/publications/working-papers/abstract/?id=6332

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