There is a fixed number of jobs to go around
| There is a fixed number of jobs to go around | |
|---|---|
| FALSE | |
| "An economy has a fixed amount of work, so every job taken by an immigrant, a woman entering the workforce, an older worker or a machine is a job taken from someone else." | |
| Domain | Economy & Labor |
| Tactic | False Context |
| Era | Historical |
| First seen | 19th century |
| Origin | Economist David Frederick Schloss named the idea the "theory of the lump of labour" in 1891 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-29 |
| Further reading: books on Economy & Labor | |
The lump of labor fallacy is the belief that the amount of work in an economy is fixed. Economists have long treated it as a classic error, because jobs and demand grow when populations, productivity and spending grow.
The claim
It appears in many forms: that immigrants take a fixed number of jobs, that older people should retire to free jobs for the young, or that shorter work weeks will create proportionally more jobs.
What the evidence shows
- Growth adds jobs. Women's mass entry into paid work in the 20th century did not produce mass male unemployment; total employment grew.
- Workers are also consumers. New workers earn and spend, creating demand for other workers.
- Real effects exist. Particular workers can lose out from trade, automation or competition, and adjustment can be painful. The fallacy lies in treating the total as fixed.
Why it persists
Job loss is concrete and local, while job creation is diffuse.
Sources
- David F. Schloss, Methods of Industrial Remuneration (Williams and Norgate, 1891).
- Wikipedia, "Lump of labour fallacy."