Unstable Job Attachments and the Changing Structure of British Unemployment 1973-83.

This paper shows that the effect of job instability on the socioecon omic structure of British unemployment is less than usually thought: groups with a high frequency of unemployment often have high prob abilities of entering unemployment should turnover occur, and not hig h turnover; high unemployment groups are as likely to experience long durations as more frequent spells. The structure of cross-section un employment is remarkably unchanged between 1973 and 1983 despite the fourfold rise in aggregate unemployment. Most significant is (1) the relative increase in unemployment among the semi-skilled and skilled manual workers and (2) the relative increase among ethnic minorities. Copyright 1987 by Royal Economic Society.