2018/01/31 by Andrew Foote, Michel Grosz, Ann Stevens +1 · 55 citations
Health Professions · Social Sciences · #Demographic economics #Displaced workers #Economics #Employment and Welfare Studies #Great recession #Labour economics #Layoff #Macroeconomics #Migration and Labor Dynamics #Recession #Retirement, Disability, and Employment #Unemployment
paper · doi:10.1177/0019793917753095
published in Industrial and Labor Relations Review 72(1), 101-126 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2018/01/31 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/26
Large shocks to local labor markets can cause long-lasting changes to employment, unemployment, and the local labor force. This study examines the relationship between mass layoffs and the long-run size of the local labor force. The authors consider four main channels through which the local labor force may adjust: in-migration, out-migration, retirement, and disability insurance enrollment. These channels, primarily out-migration, account for more than half of the labor force reduction over the past two decades. Findings show, however, that during and after the Great Recession, instead of out-migration, non-participation in the labor force grew to account for most of the local labor force exits following a mass layoff.