Susan N. Houseman

Senior Economist

Houseman is a labor economist whose recent research has focused on labor market effects of temporary help and other types of outsourcing and on measurement issues related to the growth of outsourcing and offshoring. Other research interests include adjustment to changes in labor demand, international comparisons of labor policies, short-time compensation, and older workers.

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Expertise

Research Focus: Measurement Problems Arising from the Growth of Globalization

The federal statistical system does not adequately measure certain rapidly expanding forms of international trade associated with the global integration of production, compromising the accuracy of, and possibly biasing, key economic statistics and analysis based on these measures.

Houseman’s (coauthored) research explains why the growth of offshoring is resulting in an overstatement of productivity and output growth in the U.S. economy—particularly in the manufacturing sector—and discusses the implications for employment, wages, and policy.

Conference on "Measuring the Effects of Globalization"
February 28–March 1, 2013
Washington, DC Conference agenda and papers
Register for the conference here.

Houseman co-directed a research and conference project on measurement problems arising from the growth of globalization with funding from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation:

Research Focus: Temporary Help Employment and Other Forms of Contracting Out

Temporary help agencies constitute an important port-of-entry for workers in the United States, particularly those with low skills and education levels. Houseman’s (coauthored) research has examined whether temporary help jobs are effective stepping stones to stable employment, documented the extensive use of temporary help workers by U.S. manufacturers, and studied which employers utilize temporary help agencies and why. Selected research:

Employers in the United States make extensive use of other forms of flexible staffing. Houseman’s research has studied trends in contracting out, evidence on which employers utilize these arrangements and why, and the implications of these arrangements for workers. In addition, her work has compared employers’ use of flexible staffing arrangements in the United States and Japan. Selected research:

QUICK LINKS

Contact Information

269.343.5541
Fax: 269.343.3308 houseman@upjohn.org

Houseman in the Press

Health law could boost use of temp workers
Washington Post
Jay Hancock
March 25, 2013
Susan Houseman discusses the incentives the Affordable Care Act provides to employers to increase the number of temp workers they employ. Read the article.

Expert FAQ: Temporary Workers: Are Temps the New Norm?
nerdwallet
Neda Jafarzadeh
February 22, 2013
Susan Houseman discusses whether there are signs that employers are substituting temp workers for full-time employees. Read the article.

Interview: Susan Houseman on measuring manufacturing productivity
fedgazette
Joe Mahon
October 24, 2012
“Our statistical agencies try to measure price changes, but they miss them when the price drops because companies have shifted to a low-cost supplier. So because we don’t catch the price drop associated with offshoring, it looks like we can produce the same thing with fewer inputs—productivity growth. It also looks like we are creating more value here in the United States than we really are.” Read the interview.

Economists offer more pessimistic view on manufacturing in upcoming report
Washington Post
Peter Whoriskey
March 19, 2012
“These numbers have been tossed about to say ‘Look how productive U.S. factories have been,’ said Susan Houseman, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute, who coauthored a paper with three Federal Reserve economists raising questions about the accuracy of the productivity numbers. “The reality is a lot more complex, and not as flattering.”

The Myth of American Productivity
Washington Monthly
Michael Mandel
January/February 2012
Michael Mandel's article is based on recent research by Susan Houseman. In The Myth of American Productivity he describes how globalization impacts the measurement of productivity in the United States.

The Sad Statistic That Trumps the Others
New York Times
Tyler Cowen
August 20, 2011
Tyler Cowen cites work by Susan Houseman and Michael Mandel in his discussion of how weaker productivity in the U.S. economy is a worrying sign.
Blog coverage of “Offshoring Bias in U.S. Manufacturing” May 17, 2011 and June 1, 2011 Read coverage of Susan Houseman's article appearing in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by Jared Bernstein, Tyler Cowen, and Ezra Klein.

“U.S. Employers Shift to Temp Workers”
Market Watch
Ruth Mantell
April 27, 2011
“There has been concern that contingent work arrangements are partly responsible for the growth in wage inequality and poverty,“ said Susan Houseman, senior economist at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich. “Use of nonstandard arrangements can be a mechanism companies use to create a two-tiered compensation system, paying certain groups of workers or new hires lower wages and especially benefit levels,“ she said. Read the article here.

“When Factories Vanish, So Can Innovators”
New York Times
Louis Uchitelle
February 12, 2011
Susan Houseman comments on the importance of offshoring in U.S. manufacturing. For more information on measurement issues arising from offshoring, see Offshoring an the State of American Manufacturing.

“As Populations Age, a Chance for Younger Nations”
New York Times Magazine
Ted C. Fishman
October 13, 2010
“Susan Houseman, an economist at the Upjohn Institute for Employment Research in Kalamazoo, Mich., notes that older employees in manufacturing jobs who are low-skilled have been among the most vulnerable workers of all. And when older workers lose their jobs, they search longer for new ones than people do in other age groups. They find it hard to remake themselves with new skills and grow less employable over time and more desperate to accept low pay. This, along with the prospect of additional outsourcing abroad, drives down the earnings of those older workers who manage to stay employed.”

“Freelance workers reshape companies and jobs”
USA TODAY
Paul Davidson
October 14, 2010
The province of temporary work, in turn, is expanding. Traditionally, staffing firms found jobs for office, clerical and industrial workers. Today, engineers, lawyers, drug researchers and even senior executives hop among assignments. The move toward transient workers shifts “the economic risk (of down time) from the company to workers,” says Upjohn Institute economist Susan Houseman.

“Say Goodbye to Full-time Jobs with Benefits”
CNNMoney.com
Chris Isidore
June 1, 2010
“Houseman also believes the jobs market could stay tilted in favor of employers for much of the coming decade, because of the depth of job losses and the lingering weakness in the economy.”

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