The labor market is “worse than the 1970s,” with gigantic rail strikes in the U.K. suggesting things are coming, according to Nobel Prize-winning economist Christopher Pissarides.
Britain’s RMT Union confirmed Monday that planned railway strikes will commence this week after talks with train companies couldn’t reach an agreement over jobs, pay and conditions. Around 80% of trains are cancelled, with further strikes planned later this month and in July.
Pissarides, Regius professor of economics at the London School of Economics, told CNBC on Tuesday that labor markets are going through “some of the most difficult periods” he has seen.
“It’s even worse than the 1970s, in the sense that we need to make bigger adjustments in labor markets. We have new technologies bringing on automation and, in fact, the trade union leaders are complaining about job losses, about ticket offices – that’s due to the new technologies,” he said.
Furthemore, global eonomies are struggling with soaring inflation, particularly in food and energy, in large part because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
