Answer: The Depression also forced other companies and industries to introduce cutbacks, making it almost impossible for unemployed workers to obtain jobs elsewhere. The government laid off close to one third of its civil servants during the Depression and imposed wage reductions on the rest.
In 1933, at its worst, 25 percent of the American workforce was jobless. Most historians date the Depression to the stock market crash in October 1929, when unemployment was low. Six months later, 35,000 able-bodied St. Louisans were out of work.
The study comes as record job openings in the U.S. coincide with persistent unemployment, suggesting a mismatch in labor demand and supply. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce last week launched a campaign calling for an increase in employment-based immigration to address the worker shortage.
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