Who are the unemployed?

This paper provides an analysis of the incidence of unemployment in Britain between 1979 and 1986. Using Labour Force Survey data, we attempt to quantify the extent to which different groups in the population are exposed to differential unemployment risk. We find strong evidence that unemployment incidence is dependent upon individual characteristics. This most important indicator of potential unemployment is a person''s occupation. Recurrent and long term unemployment states are over-represented with manual workers.