Running out of time : Using job ads to analyse the demand for messengers in the twentieth century

Summary, in English

Youth labour remained important well into the twentieth century, although it is often elusive in traditional sources. In this article, we investigate messengers – a category of occupational titles, including errand and office boys, which is thought of as youth jobs. We sketch the long-term development of the occupation by making use of digitised Swedish daily newspapers and discuss demand-side, supply-side and institutional factors for the disappearance of the occupation. Our investigation suggests that the messenger jobs reached their peak around 1945 and thereafter decreased to low levels in the 1960s. We find that employers looking for messengers were large organisations that needed in-house help with deliveries and simple office tasks. These employers originally aimed at young men aged 15–17 years. The minimum age requirement was not loosened over time; instead, employers began to announce for older workers. We interpret this as employers’ adapting to a situation where the supply of young messengers had decreased. Employers made their ads appealing by emphasising good working conditions and career prospects, indicating that there was still a demand for messengers despite the changing times.

• Author: Peter Gladoić Håkansson; Tobias Karlsson; Matti La Mela
• Department/s: Historical labour markets; Centre for Economic Demography; Department of Economic History
• Publishing year: 2023
• Language: English
• Pages: 299-318
• Publication/Series: Scandinavian Economic History Review
• Volume: 71
• Issue: 3
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03585522.2022.2106300
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Routledge
• Topic: Economic History; History; Work Sciences
• Keywords: youth jobs; digitised newspapers; labour markets; occupations; twentieth century; messengers; errand boys; office boys
• Status: Published
• Project: Historisk arbetslivsforskning
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1750-2837