Precedents: The Job Crisis of the 1970s The current sense of
crisis in the job market pales when compared with the surfeit of
history Ph.D.’s produced in the 1970s that created a “lost
generation” of historians. In contrast to recent annual
disparities of about 20 percent between new jobs and new
Ph.D.’s, at the height of the 1970s job crisis the disparity
rose to nearly 50 percent. Given that graduate training in
history was primarily directed toward employment in colleges and
universities, it is notable that more than a third of those who
received history Ph.D.’s ultimately had to find employment
elsewhere. This disparity was largely precipitated by the
demographic bulge of “baby boomers,” which began to swell
enrollments in the early 1960s. From 1960 to 1970, the
production of history B.A.’s rose 67 percent (see figure on BA
production), creating enormous demand for history teachers. As a
portion of these history B.A.’s followed the apparent demand for
history teachers into history Ph.D. programs, the numb