Flexibility and Security: Contradictions in the Contemporary Labour Market

Abstract

We live in a society where the vast majority of us depend directly or indirectly on the labour market for our livelihood. The income which supports us comes from our ability to sell our labour power, to secure paid employment or to have done so in the past, or the ability to do so of those on whom we are dependent. The proper operation of the labour market, the institutions which allocate people to jobs and jobs to people, is therefore crucially important for our well-being. Yet throughout the past 15 to 20 years the labour market in Britain has been characterized by too little effective demand for labour to provide employment for all those who would like or need to have a job. There have also been difficulties arising from mismatches between the jobs which are vacant and the qualifications, skills and experience of available workers. These difficulties, however, cannot account for the levels of unemployment experienced since the 1970s.¹