David G. Blanchflower is the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, professor of economics at the University of Stirling, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Twitter @D_Blanchflower A candid explanation of how the labor market really works and is central to everything-and why it is not as healthy as we think
Relying on unemployment numbers is a dangerous way to gauge how the labor market is doing. Because of a false sense of optimism prior to the COVID-19 shock, the working world was more vulnerable than it should have been. Not Working is about how people want full-time work at a decent wage and how the plight of the underemployed contributes to widespread despair, a worsening drug epidemic, and the unchecked rise of right-wing populism. David Blanchflower explains why the economy since the Great Recession is vastly different from what came before, and calls out our leaders for their continued failure to address one of the most unacknowledged social catastrophes of our time. This revelatory and outspoken book is his candid report on how the young and the less skilled are among the worst casualties of underemployment, how immigrants are taking the blame, and how the epidemic of unhappiness and self-destruction will continue to spread unless we deal with it. Especially urgent now, Not Working is an essential guide to strengthening the labor market for all when we need it most. "Wide-ranging and impeccably researched."-Grace Blakeley, New Statesman "David Blanchflower delivers a stinging rebuke to his profession, saying economists' failure to get out into the real world muddled their models."-Edward Luce, Financial Times "Innovative and convincing."-Howard Reed, Prospect "Blanchflower convincingly demonstrates that behind the boasts of high employment lies the phenomenon of widespread underemployment, with many people working less than they want to, or in jobs way beneath their qualifications."-William Keegan, The Guardian
