The Effects of Entering the LIS Workforce in a Recession: North Carolina, 1964–2005

• Published in: Library trends Vol. 58; no. 2; pp. 291 - 300
• Main Authors: Morgan, Chad H, Morgan, Jennifer Craft
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Press 01.10.2009
• Subjects: African Americans; Economic recession; Employment prospects; Great Depression; Heads of Households; Information Science Education; Information Scientists; Job Applicants; Job Layoff; Labor Force; Labor Market; Librarians; Library and information professionals; Library Personnel; Library Science; North Carolina; Professions; Public sector; Recessions; Special Libraries; Studies; Unemployment; North Carolina; United States > US; Georgia
• ISSN: 0024-2594; 1559-0682; 1559-0682
• DOI: 10.1353/lib.0.0079

This article examines the short- and long-term effects of entering the LIS workforce during a recession. It looks specifically at cohorts graduating from six North Carolina LIS programs during the recessions of 1973–75, 1980–82, 1990–91, and 2001 and compares aspects of their starting job, current job, pay, and indicators of job quality with those of nonrecession graduates of the same programs over the period from 1964 to 2005. Additional analyses are performed using job search and work setting match variables for a more in-depth look at recent graduates in the last recession (2001). We find that, examining the measures available, the labor market for North Carolina library and information science graduates appears to be relatively "recession-proof."