The oil and gas extraction industry in Texas gained 2,500 jobs from April 2014 to May 2014. Compared to May 2013, the cumulative number of jobs added in this industry is 9,700, an increase of 9.4%.
Image Source: http://www.eliteexploration.com/texas-oil-gas-companies/
Labor hoarding is a concept where employers hold onto workers during economic down times even though they don’t necessarily need them. The idea is that the cost of retraining employees is sufficiently high that it is more cost-effective for employers to retain employees even though they are under utilized.
Initially the concept of labor hoarding was used to explain an apparent contradiction in the economic literature.
The economic contradiction was that during economic expansions employers would not necessarily hire more people. Also it was observed that employers were not necessarily releasing employees when downturns occurred.
This observation also led to a apparent contradiction in the labor economic literature.
According to labor economic literature the average productivity of labor should increase during slowdowns and recessions. The fall of average productivity theoretically, would occur because firms would reduce their labor force during recessions and employees essentially would do more with less during economic contractions.
So for example, delivery workers would be assigned to additional routes during a contraction and instead of having two people cover two routes, the routes would be consolidated so that only one person would be needed.
Since the production level is the same (or least falling at a slower rate than the decline in workers) and the number of workers declines, the average productivity of labor would increase. Alternatively the marginal productivity of labor would increase since fewer workers are needed. (Recall, that there is a inverse relationship between the marginal productivity of labor and the number of workers.)
So what does the current economic literature say about labor hoarding?
That is a central question in many wrongful employment termination lawsuits. The plaintiff’s back and front pay earnings claims revolve around the answer to this question. The length of an individual’s job search time depends on a number of factors. These factors include the individual’s work background, type of job, number of other qualified job searchers, and geographical area. The individual’s job search methods and efforts are also important factors.
In our work we study these types of job search factors in conjunction with the number of job searchers and employer demand for the relevant job position.
We have studied the labor market conditions for many job positions. In recent analyses we have studied the labor market for accountants, network computer administrators, and operations managers. The number of statewide job openings and searchers per job openings is shown in the table below. Searchers per job openings ratios that are less than 1.0 indicate that there are more job openings than job searchers for the particular job. Job searcher per job openings ratios greater than 1.0 indicate that there are more job searchers than job openings for the particular job..
Methodology
Number of job openings (Labor demand by employers): Based on the distribution of specific job openings in an industry, city and occupational classification. Data sources include U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics databases: JOLT, CPS, and LAUS.
Number of job searchers (Labor supply by individuals): Based on geographical area(s) labor force, percentage of the labor force in each occupation, unemployment rate, and an unemployment rate adjustment factor associated with the occupation. Data sources include U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics databases: JOLT, CPS, and LAUS.
Learn more read the article.
Dr. Sandra Black, UT-Austin economics professor, looks at the impact of school starting age and family background on work earnings. From her work:
We find that if you enter the labor market later, as a result you have less experience and so you get paid less than the people who are the same age who started earlier, but by age 30 you’ve caught up. – Dr. Sandra Black
U.S. Census provides tutorial on using block level demographic data from the American Community Survey (ACS). Block level data is data at the lowest level of aggregation as opposed to a census tract, zip code, or higher. A block may be as small as a few streets in a neighborhood.
Block level data is provided only in the 5 year summary file and for certain tables. The data is quite useful for a number of business, commercial, and research purposes.
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Adminstration
U.S. Department of Commerce reports manufacturing wages and employment continues to rise the U.S. The new study uses a relatively new data source, the Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI), to analyze the earnings of new hires relative to incumbent workers in both manufacturing and non-manufacturing.
They find that new hires in the manufacturing sector earn more than new hires in other industries and have done particularly well since the recession began.
Highlight from the study include:
In order for a bonus to be considered discretionary, it should be at the sole discretion of the employer to award it, not an expectation by the employees. A discretionary bonus is a form of variable pay; the amount, requirements, timing and announcement of the bonus should not be disclosed in advance, as this may appear to be a motivator or incentive implying that meeting certain levels would guarantee a bonus or reward. In a discretionary bonus, the employer determines after the fact that there is a reason for awarding a bonus, such as reaching company and financial goals, or chooses to reward an individual employee after exceptional performance. A nondiscretionary bonus is the opposite of a discretionary one. The employer from the outset determines the standards that are required to receive a bonus based on meeting specific criteria. The employees expect to earn the bonus if they meet the standards. An employer’s incentive pay plan that provides additional compensation for exceeding performance or productivity goals is an example of how nondiscretionary bonuses are executed in the workplace.
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Employment: ADP Sept. Employment Report
Prices: Consumer Price Index,Sept 2013
Earnings: US BLS monthly consumer survey
U.S. BEA provides a short but comprehensive review of the components of GDP and how it is constructed.
Detailed data and the underlying micro data can be found at;
http://www.census.gov/population/foreign/
Two sources of information are:
Detailed tables on the foreign-born population in the United States from the Current Population Survey shown by a wide range of characteristics including age, sex, marital status, employment status, occupation, industry, income, earnings, poverty status, household type, size and tenure, and metropolitan status
http://www.census.gov/population/foreign/data/cps.html