RSF Journal Conference: The U.S. Labor Market During and After the Great Recession

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 created the greatest economic upheaval in the United States since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Six years into the recovery, the labor market is recovering, but wage growth remains low, long-term unemployment remains high, and labor force participation is substantially below pre-recession levels. This persistent weakness of the labor market has attracted much attention from scholars and policymakers. There are now enough years of post-recession data to begin a deeper analysis of the sources and consequences of the slow recovery on workers, families, and communities.

For an upcoming issue of the RSF online journal, sociologist Arne Kalleberg and economist Till von Wachter will organize a symposium featuring nine articles that examine the sources and consequences of protracted weakness in the labor market during and after the Great Recession. Kalleberg and von Wachter will serve as the guest editors for this issue, which will focus on how current or past public policies (and other institutions) have helped to shape the trends being analyzed.