NYS Department of Labor unemployment surge in 1938 - what caused the rise back then?
Been researching unemployment history for a college paper and I'm confused about why unemployment spiked again in 1938 after the initial recovery from the Great Depression. Does anyone know what caused unemployment to rise again that year? I'm especially curious if NYS Department of Labor has any historical data about this period and how it compares to modern unemployment cycles. My professor mentioned something about policy changes but I can't find clear explanations anywhere.
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Zara Rashid
The 1938 unemployment rise was mainly due to what economists call the 'Roosevelt Recession.' Government spending was cut back too quickly, and there were also labor disputes that disrupted production. NYS Department of Labor records from that era would show a sharp increase in claims as factories laid off workers. It's actually a good historical parallel to understand how sudden policy changes can impact unemployment rates even during recovery periods.
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Sean Doyle
•That makes sense! So it was basically premature austerity measures? I wonder if NYS Department of Labor still has those old records available for research.
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Luca Romano
yeah my grandfather used to talk about 1938 being really rough even though things were supposedly getting better. he lost his job at a steel plant that year and had to move from upstate NY to find work. back then there wasn't really an organized unemployment system like we have with NYS Department of Labor now, so people just had to figure it out on their own
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Nia Jackson
•That's so interesting that your family experienced that directly. The lack of a modern unemployment insurance system must have made it even harder.
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NebulaNova
If you're looking for historical NYS Department of Labor data, you might want to try contacting their research division directly. Sometimes getting through to government agencies can be frustrating with long hold times, but there's actually a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helps people get connected to NYS Department of Labor representatives more efficiently. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Might be worth trying if you need to speak with someone about accessing historical unemployment records.
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Sean Doyle
•Thanks for the suggestion! I'll definitely check that out if I need to contact NYS Department of Labor directly for my research.
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Mateo Hernandez
The whole situation in 1938 was basically caused by FDR trying to balance the budget too early and cutting New Deal spending. Plus there were major strikes in key industries. It shows how fragile economic recovery can be and why sustained support is important during unemployment crises.
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