The impact of 9/11 on hours of work and labour force participation in the US

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to use observed changes in hours of work and labour force participation to draw inferences regarding behavioural responses to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the US. Using the Current Population Survey and controlling for differences in demographics, labour market conditions and a time-invariant unobserved individual fixed effect, we determine that for most sub-samples there was no change in labour force participation or in hours of work after 9/11 relative to before. Exceptions were women, who increased their labour force participation, and workers living in the proximity of one of the 9/11 events, who increased their hours of work. These results are consistent with a precautionary increase in labour supply during an uncertain time, and with others' documentation of women responding more dramatically to external stressors.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Robert E. Moore and Cordelia Reimers for helpful comments. The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta or of the Federal Reserve System.