The Mess and Misery of Musical Chairs

Anybody remember the game of musical chairs? That game that began with more participants than

chairs. That game where, once the music started playing, all the participants would move with the

rhythm of music around the chairs. That game where, once the music stopped, the participants hustled

to plop down in one of the chairs. That game where somebody would always be left standing. Anybody

remember that game? Musical chairs.

I have no idea whether the game of musical chairs is still played in grade school. Or whether it has

passed on to game heaven. But I do know this: We still playing it. The difference, though, is that it takes place in the labor market rather than the classroom. And the stakes are much higher.

THE BLS JOLT SURVEY

Every month the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) collects and disseminates info on a wide array of data, the number of job openings, hires, quits, layoffs, and so forth. All that data comes from a BLS conducted

a survey known as Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Or, JOLTS for short. Because the BLS also

collects and publicizes info on the number of unemployed persons, we can calculate another stat. The

number of unemployed persons per job vacancy.

Go back to the game of musical chairs. If there’s 30 players but only 10 chairs, well, then there’s 3

players per every chair. 3 to 1. Now, peek at the above graph. The graph tracks the unemployed

persons/job ratio from June 2005-June 2020. Currently, there are three unemployed persons for every

job vacancy. And check this out: The ratio is hardly ever 1 to 1. More unemployed persons than job

openings is the norm, not the exception.

And remember this. That ratio only includes the number of jobless persons who are actively seeking

employment. It doesn’t include, for instance, persons who have become so despondent about their job

prospects that they simply quit looking and drop out of the labor force. Including these folks would

substantially raise the ratio. So, there’s more than three persons for every job vacancy. The situation

displayed in the text is an understatement of just how much of mess this economic game of musical

chairs is. There’re more people left standing than the officially reported data suggests.

THE MISERY OF BEING LEFT STANDING

You know, it’s one thing to be left standing in the grade school version of musical chairs. Maybe your

feelings might be a little bruised. That’s something you’ll get over. That’s something that doesn’t linger.

No kid is going to lose that much sleep behind it.

But being left standing in the labor market is an entirely different matter. When you’re standing in the

labor market version of musical chairs you might come up short on the rent and, eventually, find

yourself homeless. When you’re left standing in the labor market version of musical chairs, you might

start missing meals. When you’re left standing in the labor market version of musical chairs, you might

not be able to make your student loan payments and, eventually, find your credit all jacked up. You

might lose or car. Or even a cherished relationship. Left standing in the labor market version of musical

chairs can be stressful, and stress is never a building block for a robust relationship. Stress eats at the

fabric of relationships, and stress wreaks havoc on one’s health. Left standing is no joke. Left standing is

messy and miserable. At least when the game of musical chairs plays out in the jobs market.

I don’t what all of this means to you. But to me it means we need to jettison the widespread belief that

anyone who wants a job can find. What is means to me is that we need to banish the notion that

joblessness is prima facie evidence of laziness. What it means to me is that we ought to be fighting for

an economic bill of rights that guarantees employment to all who are able, ready, and willing to work.

That’s what it means. To me.

Catch you on the rebound,

Doc Greene