Perceptions of Job Insecurity before, during, and after the Great Recession

Abstract

This Research Note documents how insecure workers were feeling before, during, and after the Great Recession, using the American General Social Surveys, and highlights disparities and inequalities by gender, race, age, and education. This study confirms that, like unemployment rates, fear of job loss varies significantly across race, gender, and age groups. I find two unexpected results. First, both male and female workers’ perceptions of job insecurity seem to have increased equally, despite the term “man‐cession.” Second, older workers felt much more insecure than the middle‐aged workers, despite their higher level of experience and lower likelihood of unemployment.