Unemployed With Jobs and Without Jobs

Potential workers are classified as unemployed if they seek work but are not working. The unemployed population contains two groups -- those with jobs and those without jobs. Those with jobs are on furlough or temporary layoff. This group expanded tremendously in April 2020. They wait out periods of non-work with the understanding that their jobs still exist and that they will be recalled. We show that the resulting recall-unemployment dissipates quickly following a spike. Potential workers without jobs constitute what we call jobless-unemployment. Shocks that elevate jobless-unemployment have much more persistent effects. Historical major adverse shocks, such as the financial crisis in 2008, created mostly jobless-unemployment and consequently caused extended periods of elevated unemployment. The pandemic of 2020 created a large volume of recall-unemployment, mostly starting in April. It largely dissipated by November. It also created a bulge in jobless-unemployment.