In Aberdeen (and elsewhere) workers are yelling 'how many more jobs must be lost' before the UK Govt. acts (although its not like the oil sector has been out of favour for long).

But what of academic staff shouting the same about universities?

Our political class gives a lot more weight to workers in industry (who claim the Govt. can help) than those in universities (whose plight is directly related to Govt. funding decisions).

The value of universities is still obscured!

#politics #workers

Luke Bocock is right: the reason young people find it hard to get jobs is also about the shrinking availability of entry-level jobs across the economy.

As he puts it: 'Young people don’t just need help to climb the rungs of the career ladder; we also need to rebuild the ladder itself'!

Otherwise we are just back to the lazy politics of victim blaming. However much you learn, or the range of skills they acquire, you cannot get a job that's not there!

#workers #politics
https://feweek.co.uk/the-career-ladder-is-missing-its-first-rung/

As Sarah O'Connor (FT) points out when we think about the future of specific jobs/professions (in the face of technological change) we need to factor in what she calls "anticipatory obsolescence' - the tendency of your people to look at the prospective future & shape their educational paths on that basis;

thinking a certain job has no future reduces the incentive to train for it & in a sense becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy as skilled practitioners decline....

#workers #skills #education

For those of you missing Bite Size Economics, I have taken a pause (which might be some time, I have another series of daily posts in mind), but I will still be happy to respond to questions & comments related to the forty posts (thirty statements & ten examples)....

For those who've not seen them, the posts are all collected under the hashtag: #BiteSizeEconomics

#economics #politics #FinancialServices #markets #workers #IntellectualProperty #corporations #trade #tariffs #PoliticalEconomy

People puzzled by the divergence between productivity growth & workers' wages (wages no longer follow productivity but are on a lower track) and observe the declining share of labour as opposed to capital in GDP, often downplay the decline of unions but scramble to find other causes, because any decline in unionisation predates the decline in workers' share.

Well, they've forgotten the lag & stickiness in wages... a delayed effect is still a cause.

Less unions, less pay!

#workers #unions

On benefits, however, Andy Burnham told the Guardian:

'It’s about changing the nature of the support & making some of the support conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them.

So you might increase the conditions required to receive benefits. I think it’s a good thing that the government has given guarantees of opportunities for young people'!

Which is perhaps more worrying, once again implying benefits' recipients are somehow shirkers?

#politics #workers

People puzzled by the divergence between productivity growth & workers' wages (wages no longer follow productivity but are on a lower track) and observe the declining share of labour as opposed to capital in GDP, often downplay the decline of unions but scramble to find other causes, because any decline in unionisation predates the decline in workers' share.

Well, they've forgotten the lag & stickiness in wages... a delayed effect is still a cause.

Less unions, less pay!

#workers #unions