Unemployment and Vacancies in Britain
Get access
Summary
Unemployment
Christopher Pissarides
This paper uses data on unemployment flows and job vacancies to shed light on the phenomenal rise of unemployment in Britain, from under 3% in the 1960s to over 15% (male) unemployment in the 1980s. It finds that most of the rise is due to a fall in the demand for labour. A more expansionary fiscal policy and improved international competitiveness would have ameliorated this fall. Some of the fall, however, can also be attributed to supply pressure, which stopped wages from falling fast enough. Social security and a more relaxed attitude by the state in the provision of unemployment and supplementary benefits also contributed to the rise in unemployment, by making workers more choosey.
The paper investigates whether it is possible for any given set of underlying factors to give rise to more than one equilibrium unemployment rate. If so, a temporary stimulus might release the economy from a low-level equilibrium. However the conditions necessary for this do not appear to hold in practice. Thus fiscal and monetary policy can permanently affect unemployment only if they can permanently alter aggregate demand.
Microeconomic policy, like marginal employment subsidies, can, however, have a permanent effect on unemployment and the paper investigates whether there are any grounds for wishing to use such policy tools to alter the free-market equilibrium unemployment rate. There is evidence that the allocation of workers to jobs is done more efficiently at a fairly high level of overall labour demand. It follows that, unless job vacancies exceed unemployment, job creating policy measures will be beneficial.
Sign in
Get help with accessPersonal account
- Sign in with email/username & password
- Get email alerts
- Save searches
- Purchase content
- Activate your purchase/trial code
- Add your ORCID iD
Get help with access
Institutional access
Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:
IP based access
Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.
Sign in through your institution
Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.
- Click Sign in through your institution.
- Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
- When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.
Sign in with a library card
Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.
Society Members
Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:
Sign in through society site
Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:
- Click Sign in through society site.
- When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
- Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.
If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.
Sign in using a personal account
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.
Personal account
A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.
Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.
Viewing your signed in accounts
Click the account icon in the top right to:
- View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
- View the institutional accounts that are providing access.
Signed in but can't access content
Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.
Institutional account management
For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.
Purchase
Short-term Access
To purchase short-term access, please sign in to your personal account above.
Don't already have a personal account?Register
Rental
| Month: | Total Views: |
|---|---|
| February 2017 | 2 |
| March 2017 | 2 |
| June 2017 | 1 |
| August 2017 | 1 |
| June 2018 | 2 |
| July 2018 | 1 |
| August 2018 | 1 |
| October 2018 | 1 |
| March 2019 | 1 |
| July 2019 | 3 |
| August 2019 | 2 |
| January 2020 | 2 |
| December 2020 | 1 |
| February 2021 | 2 |
| March 2021 | 1 |
| June 2021 | 3 |
| March 2022 | 1 |
| April 2022 | 1 |
| May 2022 | 1 |
| July 2022 | 1 |
| October 2022 | 1 |
| January 2023 | 1 |
| March 2023 | 1 |
| July 2023 | 1 |
| October 2023 | 3 |
| December 2023 | 1 |
| February 2024 | 1 |
| March 2024 | 3 |
| April 2024 | 3 |
| July 2024 | 1 |
| September 2024 | 2 |
| November 2024 | 1 |
| January 2025 | 2 |
Citing articles via
- Online ISSN 1468-0327
- Print ISSN 0266-4658
- Copyright © 2025 CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide
- Copyright © 2025 Oxford University Press
- Cookie policy
- Privacy policy
- Legal notice
