REPOR TR ESUMES ED 011 605 VT 003 847 WHY THE UNEMPLOYED LOOKED FOR WORK. SPECIAL LABOR FORCE REPORT NUMBER 78. BY- HOYLE, KATHRYN D. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, WASHINGTON, D.C. REPORT NUMBER MON-LABOR-REV-REPRINT-2518 PUB DATE 67 EDRS PRICE MF-10.25 HC-$0.44 9P. DESCRIPTORS- *UNEMPLOYED, *LABOR FORCE, *LABOR MARKET, *JOB APPLICATION. INDIVIDUAL CHARACTERISTICS, INFORMATION ACQUIRED FROM SIX SUPPLEMENTS TO THE REGULAR "CURRENT POPULATION SURVEY" BETWEEN JULIE 1964 AND JUNE 1966 WAS USED TO EXAMINE THE REASONS UNEMPLOYED MEMBERS OFTHE LABOR FORCE BEGIN TO LOOK FOR WORK. THE DATA, WHEN AVERAGED, REVEALED THAT DURING THIS PERIOD OF RAPID ECONOMIC EXPANSION (1) 40 PERCENT HAD LOST THEIR PREVIOUS JOBS,(2) 15 PERCENT HAD QUIT THEIR LAST JOBS,(3) 25 PERCENT WERE REENTERING THE LABOR FORCE AFTER A PERIOD OF ABSENCE, AND (4) 20 PERCENT WERE NEW ENTRANTS WHO HAD NEVER HELD A FULL-TIME JOB. IN JUNE 1966, JOB LOSERS, THOSE WHOSE EMPLOYMENT WAS TERMINATED OR THOSE ON LAYOFF, ACCOUNTED FOR ONE-FOURTH OF ALL UNEMPLOYED PERSONS, AND IN DECEMBER 1964 AND JANUARY 1966 THE PROPORTION HAD RISEN TO ONE-HALF. THE NEGRO JOB-LOSER RATE WAS ABOUT TWO AND ONE-HALF TIMES THE WHITE RATE. PERSONS WHO LEFT THEIR JOBS VOLUNTARILY AND IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO LOOK FOR WORK ACCOUNTED FOR 12 TO 18 PERCENT OF THE UNEMPLOYED. THE DATA SUGGEST THAT THE NEW ENTRANT RATE DURING PERIODS OF ABUNDANT JOB OPPORTUNITIES MAY KEEP UNEMPLOYMENT RATES UP. SINCE OVERALL ECONOMIC EXPANSION SEEMS TO AFFECT ENTRANT AND JOB-LEAVER RATES VERY LITTLE AND VERY SLOWLY, JOB MARKET PROGRAMS AIMED AT SPECIFIC GROUPS WILL BE NEEDED TO REDUCE THE TOTAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE BELOW THREE AND ONE-HALF PERCENT. THIS DOCUMENT APPEARED IN THE "MONTHLY LABOR REVIEW," JANUARY 1967. (ET) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION& WELFARE A Monthly Labor Review Reprint OFFICE OF EDUCATION From the February 1967 Issue THIS DOCUMENTHAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVEDFROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIALOFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. SPECIAL LABOR FORCE REPORT NO. 78 WHY THE UNEMPLOYED LOOKED FOR WORK UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR W. Willard Wii-tz, Secretary BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS Arthur M. Ross, Commissioner Special Labor Force Report No. 78 Why the Unemployed last jobs. The unemployment of persons who quit their jobs and of labor force entrants showed little Look for Work change this 2-year period. Unemployed persona [In thousands] KATHRYN D. Rom* June 1966 June 1964 Change 1904-66 5 weeks 6 weeks 6 weeks THE UNEMPLOYMENT FIGURES are designed to as- Totalor more Total or more Total or more Total unemployed 3,870 1,1324, 692 1,911822 779 sist in measuring the utilization of the Nation's Lost job 939 4021 713 1,012774 610 most important resourceits manpower.The Left job 523 222 549 264 26 42 Reentered labor force_1,204 2801,182 367 22 87 figures include all persons not working who are Never worked 1,205 2291,248 267 -43 38 seeking -work at a given time, regardless of their financial needs or their reasons for trying to find As the above tabulation shows, almost all of the jobs. Workers who were laid off or who lost the'ir June 1964 to June 1966 unemployment reduction jobs do not account for all the unemployed, as the took place among persons out of work for a. month unemployed also include workers who leave one or longer.Job leavers,reentrants, and new job to look for another and persons who enter workers all benefited moderately from the de- the job market either for the first time or after a crease in unemployment of 5 weeks or more,but period outside the labor force. the largest dropto 400,000 from 1 millionoc- The reasons people begin to look for work were curred among job losers. first identified in supplements to the regular Cur- rent Population Survey taken in June and De- Age and Sex cember 364.1Since that time, four additional studies have been madein June 1965, November Data on why people looked for work were classi- 1965, January 1966, and June 1966. An averaging fied according to age, sex, color, and whether seek- of the 6 survey months produced the following ap- ing part-time or full-time work, as well as by proximate composite of the unemployed during duration of unemployment. this period of rapid economic expansion : 40 percent had lost their previous jobs Job Losers. The individual worker often has 15 percent bad quit their last jobs; little control over job losses, which may result 25 percent were reentering the labor force after a from business failure, decreased workload, or period of absence ; and mechanization.Persons on layoff, whether tem- 20 percent were new entrants who had never held porary or indefinite, as well as those who losetheir a full-time job. jobs permanently are termed job losers.How- The composition varied with the season.For ever, if job loss were the only cause ofunemploy- example, job losers ranged from one-fourth of thy; ment, the unemployment rate would be substan- unemployed in June 1966 to about half of the total tially lower. The total unemployment rate was in December 1964 and January 1966. On the other 4.9 percent in June 1966 (down from 6.1 and 5.5 hand, more than one-fourth of the unemployed percent in the previous Junes) and ranged from v new entrants in June When school was outof 3.9 to 4.7 percent in the 3 winter months. The sc i6ion, but less than one-sixth were in this cate- *Of the Division of Employment and Unemployment Analysis. gory in the winter months.(See table 1.) Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total unemployment fell by about 800,000 be- I Findings of the first two surveys were published to "The Unemployed : Why They Started Looking for work," Monthly tween June 1964 and June 1966; virtually all of Labor Review, October 1965, pp. 1196-1203, and were reprinted this drop topic place among person,- who lost their as Special Labor Force Report No. 60. 32 From the Monthly Labor Review, January 1967 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Reprint No. 2518 BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS 33 WHY THE UNEMPLOYEDLOOK FOR WORK unemployment rate for job-loser rate,2 however, was1.2 percent in June The typically higher adult women comparedwith adult men is also a 1966 (also downsubstantially from June 1964 in function of the women's greaterlabor force mo- and 1965) and variedfrom 1.6 to 2.3 percent for adult women is (See table 2.)In June 1966, bility The job-loser rate the wintermonths. about equal to or lowerthan that for adult men. job losers accountedfor one-fourth of all unem- proportion rose to one-half The reduction in thejob-loser rate between June ployed persons; the responsible for most of December 1964 and January 1964 and June 1966 was of the unemployed in the drop in thetotal unemployment rate.The 1966. 4..9 from 6,1 percent in With increased age andwork experience, fre- total jobless rate fell to this period.While the entrant andthe job-leaver quent or casual jobshifting decreases; the more rate finished his period rates showed littlechange, the job-loser experienced worker has usually Job losers, there- of job testing and found afield suited to his skills dropped to 1.2 from 2.2 percent. and over are normally fore, account for mostof the nonseasonal move- and interests. Men age 25 unemployment rate, thoughthey the primary source of supportfor their families, ment in the total represent only two-fifthsof the unemployed.The and the importance of awoman's earnings to her in 6 she moves out latter proportion isbased on surveys taken family's income also increases as expanding rapidly, adult years. Women months when the economy was of the teenage and young during a period of slower also become freer of householdresponsibilities as and it is probable that All these factors growth, and certainlyduring an economic down- their children grow older. of job losers wouldrise strengthen the worker's laborforce attachment turn, the proportion and discourage job quittingand movement into sharply. and out of the labor force. who left their jobsand im- of the unemployed Job Leavers. Persons Only a small proportion mediately started to lookfor work accountedfor 14 to 17 year-old:3 gavejob loss as the reason for the unemployed. Someof job becomes more 12 to 18 percent of looking for work. Loss of a the reasons for quitting areobviousdifferences prevalent among older teenagers,since more 18 to working conditions, low school and in the laborforce with the boss, unpleasant 19 year-olds are out of wages, noopportunity for advancement,and the continues.Job losers full time; this progression like.Others quit in anticipationof job loss; this accounted for more than70 percent of the unem- account for some personsreported and for more than half reason might ployed men age 45-64 years as jobquitters among theunemployed in Novem- of the unemployed womenin this age group. halts in colder climates discussion relates to job ber when outdoor work Although the preceding and in January after theChristmas season. losers as a proportion ofthe unemployed in agiven high among teenagersand based on the per- The job-leaver rate is age group,the job-loser rate is who change jobsfrequently before labor force at any agethat young adults centage of the entire deciding to settle in one.Other workers have to of a job.The age- is unemployed due to the loss leave their job becausethe family head moves in job-loser rates areconsiderably sex differentials to another community.Some persons canlook smaller than the differentialsin the total unem- remaining on their present wide gap for another job while ployment rates.For example, there is a have to quit to devotetheir full time overall unemployment one; others between teenage and adult to finding newemployment.Unless these job rates, but most of thedifference is explained by immediately, they are counted rate of teenagers.