The Road to Recovery? Some Evidence from Vacancies in One Labour Market

Even during times of high unemployment, one often hears people express the view that there are plenty of jobs available for those who want to work. Indeed, recent government policy rests on the truth of this assumption. After criticising some of the survey evidence purportedly documenting a flourishing vacancy situation nationally, the paper presents a test of the assumption in Chesterfield in the summer of 1988. The assumption is shown to be wanting. The sheer number of vacancies was not large and certainly not sufficient for the number of unemployed in the locality. The jobs that were on offer were not attractive in terms of pay and conditions. A minority of the jobs were for full-time, permanent positions. Casualised working conditions, non-standard hours, self-employment and low pay featured predominantly. There was little evidence of a skills gap. Nonetheless, virtually all the jobs were being taken, the majority by people already in work. Falling unemployment figures alone must not be taken as heralding an economic recovery, since it seems that many are simply leaving the register.