Jobless Growth: the Impact of Structural Changes

Abstract

In the past three decades, jobless growth has been indicating a significant change in the structure of employment. Economic growth is continuous and ongoing; however, the organisation of work, production and structural impacts result in new systems, which in turn decrease employment in the long run. Can the impact of structural changes be observed as a result of the 2008 economic crisis? In my study, using the example of the United States, I will illustrate, with the help of empirical data, the main economic processes which contribute to the sustainment of jobless growth. My research analyses the 2001–2014 period in a quarterly breakdown, using 19 variables. For the sake of easier analysis, I organised the variables into principal components, examined the pre-crisis and post-crisis medians of the artificial variables, and then applied the multivariate regression model, which made it clear that in the United States, structural factors have considerable impact on the development of the employment level and economic growth.