ABSTRACT
The extent to which labor was able to influence unemployment policies varied with prevailing ethical considerations, perceptions of economic alternatives, and configurations of political influence. In addition, the manner in which divergent groups viewed the impact of unemployment on its victims and on their own interests affected their willingness to negotiate with labor. 183 The fact remains that as our period progressed, an increasing number of employers were seeking responses to economic crises other than lay-offs. In areas such as Wuerttemberg, a capable labor force had been perceived as a scarce and valuable commodity since the beginning of industrialization. 184 Growing recognition of the value of well trained workers was making itself felt among entrepreneurs. They began to realize that the best way to ensure an adequate labor supply during prosperous years was to retain the services of their employees even during recessions. Employers learned to hoard skilled workers in particular, and in the process, they evolved creative ways to circumvent discharging other laborers when demand for their products declined temporarily. The last word became the operative factor in their calculations. Recognition of the temporary nature of crises and the inevitable return of prosperity motivated employers to seek alternatives to unemployment.
