Parsing the pink slip and its consequences

As recently as 1989, the Oxford English Dictionary defined ''layoff" as ''a spell of relaxation; a period during which a workman is temporarily dismissed or allowed to leave his work." Millions of laid-off Americans know better. In ''The Disposable American: Layoffs and Their Consequences" (Knopf, $25.95), Louis Uchitelle estimates that since the early 1980s, at least 30 million people have ... (Full article: 868 words)

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