US / The End of the ‘Layoff’ as we knew it

The word layoff became a key part of the national economic vocabulary in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as factories shut down and workers were essentially told not to come in. It’s still used frequently in the business press, but now when you read “layoff” it’s most frequently a euphemism for workforce-cut. When Blackberry or Merck  cut workers there’s no commitment to bring them back (and by the way, credit Bloomberg’s Drew Armstrong with avoiding the word and telling it like it is).

You can see the diminishing role of genuine layoffs–ones that may just be temporary–over the decades in the chart above. At one time close to one quarter of the unemployed were on layoff and expecting to be called back to work. Now, in a post-union environment, that idea of layoff is rarely applicable.

Where once companies had formal commitments to bring back union workers, now they’d frequently rather avoid rehiring workers, especially at lower pay. Worst off may be the folks who’ve worked longest for one employer. Decades ago, with years of seniority under their belts, they would have been the first to be hired back from layoffs. Now they may well be the those thrust deepest into the hole, with the fewest tools to climb out.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at 

via The End of the ‘Layoff’ – The Market Now.