Jobless recovery
Economic phenomenon
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Through Macroeconomics, Economic growth and Employment
Causes
Some argue that a jobless recovery is caused by increased productivity through automation, which allows economic growth without reducing unemployment or enabling economies to provide universal basic income. However, critics view this as an example of the luddite fallacy, suggesting instead that jobless recoveries result from structural changes in the labor market. These changes lead to unemployment as workers require new skills, but the education system has not adapted to provide relevant knowledge and competencies. Other economists attribute jobless recoveries to broader macroeconomic misalignments between endogenous growth, labor absorption capacity, and the distribution of income and wealth.
Industrial consolidation
Some have argued that the recent lack of job creation in the United States is due to increased industrial consolidation and growth of monopoly or oligopoly power. The argument is twofold: firstly, small businesses create most American jobs, and secondly, small businesses have more difficulty starting and growing in the face of entrenched existing businesses (compare infant industry argument, applied at the level of industries, rather than individual firms).
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Population growth vs. employment growth
In addition to employment growth, population growth must also be considered concerning the perception of jobless recoveries. Immigrants (both legal and illegal) added to the workforce will often accept lower wages, causing persistent unemployment among those who were previously employed.
Surprisingly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not offer data-sets isolated to the working-age population (ages 16 to 65). Including retirement age individuals in most BLS data-sets may tend to obfuscate the analysis of employment creation in relation to population growth. Additionally, incorrect assumptions about the term, Labor force, might also occur when reading BLS publications, millions of employable persons are not included within the official definition. The Labor force, as defined by the BLS, is a strict definition of those officially unemployed (U-3), and those who are officially employed (1 hour or more).
The following table and included chart depicts year-to-year employment growth in comparison to population growth for those persons under 65 years of age. As such, baby boomer retirements are removed from the data as a factor for consideration. The table includes the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, for the Civilian noninstitutional population and corresponding Employment Levels, dating from 1948 and includes October 2013, the age groups are 16 years & over, and 65 years & over. The working-age population is then determined by subtracting those age 65 and over from the Civilian noninstitutional population and Employment Levels respectively. Isolated into the traditional working-age subset, growth in both employment levels and population levels are totaled by decade, an employment percentage rate is also displayed for comparison by decade.
When examined, by decade, the first decade of the 2000s, the United States suffered a 5% jobless rate when compared to the added working age population.