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A recent article on Forbes.com notes a dramatic rise in the demand for occupational license requirements. Doctors and lawyers have always been subject to governmental licensure, but Forbes points out that mortgage brokers, interior designers, funeral directors, building contractors, hairdressers, and others are now asking governments to impose or stiffen occupational entry requirements. Forbes refers to this as a new “union” movement:
As the economy has switched from manufacturing to services, some 28% of U.S. workers--or 43 million people--now belong to a licensed profession, according to a Princeton University/Gallup survey last year. That's up from 4.5% 50 years ago. Over the same period union membership has fallen from 35% to 12%.
Forbes argues that “[t]hese modern-day guilds have replaced organized labor as the main vehicle for workers seeking to shield themselves from competition.” This may or may not be a fair attack on unions, whose primary function is to bargain with an employer over terms and conditions of employment. But restricting labor competition is clearly bad policy – and not just for businesses:
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