Unemployed Like Me
Blogger extraordinaire (a.k.a. film critic extraordinaire) and Hit & Run regular Alan Vanneman takes issue with a Wash Post story on long-term unemployment among the people who really matter, i.e., those more likely to read the Wash Post:
"The problem [long-term unemployment] is ensnaring a broader swath of workers than before. Once concentrated among manufacturing workers and those with little work history, education or skills, long-term unemployment is growing most rapidly among white-collar and college-educated workers with long work experience, studies have found, making the problem difficult for policymakers to address even as it grows more urgent."
OK, so far, so good. But what evidence does Mike have to prove that "long-term unemployment is growing most rapidly among white-collar and college-educated workers with long work experience"? He refers to "studies" but provides no data from them. He provides anecdotal evidence for a grand total of two workers-two! two!-both of whom departed from their last employer under less than ideal circumstances. One felt the job was a "bad fit," which could mean anything from "my boss was an idiot" to "they told me that if I didn't quit they'd fire me." Mike's other hapless victim had a "sleeping disorder," which resulted in his, well, in his not showing up for work very much. Some swath!
