Unemployment and Non-Employment: Heterogeneities in Labour Market States

Stephen Jones () and W. Craig Riddell

Department of Economics Working Papers from McMaster University

Abstract: Determining how to distinguish between unemployment and non-participation is important and controversial. The conventional approach employs a priori reasoning together with self-reported current behaviour. This paper employs an evidence-based classification of labour force status using information about the consequences of the behaviour of the nonemployed. We find that marginal attachment—defined as desiring work, although not searching—is a distinct labour market state, lying between those who do not desire work and the unemployed. Furthermore, there are important heterogeneities within these non-employment states. Two subsets of non-participants—both engaged in “waiting”—display behaviour similar to the unemployed.

JEL-codes: C82 E24 J60 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 46 pages
Date: 2002-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (30)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Unemployment and Nonemployment: Heterogeneities in Labor Market States (2006)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mcm:deptwp:2002-05

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