Rise and Decline in Work Stoppage Statistics

This paper examines work stoppage statistics for the period 1900-2006 for the contemporary world's 21 largest economies. Attention is drawn to the large number of missing observations and the overall poor historical quality of these data. Despite this, it is shown for most economies there has been a marked drop in stoppages in the last two or three decades. This applies particularly to economies with data stretching back to earlier (pre-World War II) decades. It is argued that it is important to establish and maintain high standards of reporting on stoppages statistics regardless of whether stoppages are on the rise or in decline.