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Author: Thrall, Charles A.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Furstenberg, Frank F. Jr.
Thrall, Charles A.
Counting the Jobless: The Impact of Job Rationing on the Measurement of Unemployment
Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 418,1 (March 1975): 45-59.
Also: http://ann.sagepub.com/content/418/1/45.abstract
Cohort(s): Mature Women, Older Men
Publisher: Sage Publications
Keyword(s): Behavior; Job Search; Social Security; Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This paper argues that the official definition of unemployment does not accurately consider the actual population available for work. The behavior involved in actively seeking employment is subject to a normative bias resulting from expectations, from feelings of obligations, sense of right to a job, and ease in accomplishing the job search. These expectations are a part of "job rationing ideology" which is present in Social Security regulations, which conceals the level of job shortage while alleviating strain which would otherwise result. Secondary analysis of data for women 30 to 44 supports a model of continuum of attachment to employment. Finally, normative considerations must be recognized in order to improve methods of determining labor supply; otherwise a failure to use such methods would be a barrier to intelligent economic and social planning.
Bibliography Citation
Furstenberg, Frank F. Jr. and Charles A. Thrall. "Counting the Jobless: The Impact of Job Rationing on the Measurement of Unemployment." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 418,1 (March 1975): 45-59.
2. Thrall, Charles A.
Furstenberg, Frank F. Jr.
Rationing of Jobs: Consequences for Women Who Want to Work
Presented: San Francisco, CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meetings, 1975
Cohort(s): Mature Women
Publisher: American Sociological Association
Keyword(s): Children; Employment; Job Search; Marital Status; Unemployment

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

As a consequence of a chronic shortage of jobs in the United States, a set of norms and beliefs has developed for allocating the limited supply of jobs that do exist. This normative system serves as both a justification and a set of rules for rationing employment and has thus been labelled "job rationing ideology. " It operates as a queueing mechanism, placing individuals in line for employment with prime age white males at the head of the queue and everyone else one or more steps behind. For individuals such as women and minorities who stand back from the head of the job rationing queue, active job seeking is not a direct function of interest in working but also reflects the individual's sense of obligation to work and right to a job. To the extent that this is true, the present unemployment statistics are of little value in measuring the ability of the economy to provide work to all who are interested in working. Instead, the present measure serves to help obscure both the extent of the chronic shortage of jobs and the impact of the job rationing system on women and minorities who stand back from the head of the line.
Bibliography Citation
Thrall, Charles A. and Frank F. Jr. Furstenberg. "Rationing of Jobs: Consequences for Women Who Want to Work." Presented: San Francisco, CA, American Sociological Association Annual Meetings, 1975.