Job tenure and unskilled workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul’s Cathedral 1672-1748

Meredith Paker, Judy Stephenson and Patrick Wallis

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labor markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral, London (1672–1748), to analyze the hiring and employment histories of over 1,000 general building laborers, the benchmark category of “unskilled” workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St Paul’s created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral’s strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.

JEL-codes: J21 J22 J23 N33 N63 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37 pages
Date: 2023-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-his
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Published in Journal of Economic History, 1, December, 2023, 83(4), pp. 1101 - 1137. ISSN: 0022-0507

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Related works:
Journal Article: Job Tenure and Unskilled Workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul’s Cathedral 1672–1748 (2023)
Working Paper: Job tenure and unskilled workers before the Industrial Revolution: St Paul’s Cathedral 1672-1748 (2022)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:117264

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