Employment Enigma

fedgazette, the bimonthly newspaper of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, may not be part of your regular reading routine, but I can recommend it as consistently well written and interesting, even if you live outside the Feds' six-state Ninth District.

"Job Shocks," a series of articles in the current issue, investigates how local economies respond to massive layoffs or a serious slump in the job market. The authors' general conclusions:

"There are no obvious bogeymen. While it seems there might be a predictable story to tell here--either about the ravages of globalization or the decline of rural economies--what's most interesting is that employment shocks come from all types of sources, making it difficult to anticipate the time, place or source of major job loss; maybe more vexing is the inability to predict who will see job resilience in the aftermath. Those hoping there is a 'recovery template' to follow are likely to be disappointed."