This collection of essays, from leading economic experts on the UK labour market, provides an overview of the key issues concerning the performance of the labour market, and the policy issues surrounding it, with a focus on the recent recession and its aftermath. The book contains assessments of the effects of many policies introduced over the last 10 years in employment, education, and welfare. The result is the first serious comprehensive analysis of the economic downturn and the Labour government's record in the field of employment, spanning its time in office. An indispensable reference source on contemporary labour market developments in the UK, this book will be required reading, and of lasting use, to academics, students, practitioners, and policy makers.

these findings are interesting ... the chapter summaries are usually clear and succinct. * Declan Trott, The Economic Record *
this book provides a wealth of empirical data which will interest anyone concerned with the UK labour market. * Del Roy Fletcher, People, Place & Policy Online *

Paul Gregg recently completed a review of Personalised Support and Conditionality in the Welfare System for the UK Dept. of Work and Pensions. He is also a member of the London Child Poverty Commission and a programme director at the Centre for Market and Public Organisation. He was formerly a member of the Council of Economic Advisors at HM Treasury 1997-2006, where he worked on welfare reform and child poverty. His research has covered youth unemployment, workless households, child poverty, intergenerational mobility, and the drivers of social disadvantage. Jonathan Wadsworth is a senior research fellow at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance, deputy director of the Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (CREAM), and a research associate at IZA Bonn.