Thread by @ElizaForsythe

There's been lots of discussion about how to reform the unemployment insurance system. One group that is left out are new labor market entrants. These workers don't have the work history to qualify for standard UI benefits but are some of the hardest hit by recessions 1/

I show this in two papers. In "Why Don't Firms Hire Young Workers During Recessions?" I show that new labor market entrants disproportionately bear the brunt of reduced hiring during recessions, likely bc employers prefer experienced hires. 2/

publish.illinois.edu/elizaforsythe/…

Similarly, I show with Jhih-Chian Wu that hiring is the main determinant of cyclical unemployment rates for young workers as well as other demographic groups 3/

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…

Finally work by @ProfLisaBKahn and others have shown that there are long term earnings and employment effects for workers who happen to graduate during recessions. 4/

Young workers should have access to insurance against such adverse events. Reforms to the UI system provide an excellent opportunity to include labor market entrants, with benefits linked to automatic triggers. 5/5