How were unskilled workers selected and hired in preindustrial labor markets? We exploit records from the rebuilding of St Paul’s Cathedral, London (1672–1748), to analyze the hiring and employment histories of over 1,000 general building laborers, the benchmark category of “unskilled” workers in long-run wage series. Despite volatile demand, St Paul’s created a stable workforce by rewarding the tenure of long-standing workers. More senior workers received more days of work each month, preference when jobs were scarce, and the opportunity to earn additional income. We find the cathedral’s strategy consistent with reducing hiring frictions and turnover costs.

前工业化劳动力市场如何选择和雇用非技术工人？我们利用伦敦圣保罗大教堂（1672-1748）重建的记录来分析 1,000 多名普通建筑工人的雇佣和就业历史，这些工人是长期工资系列中“非技术”工人的基准类别。尽管需求波动，圣保罗学院仍然通过奖励长期工作人员的任期来创造稳定的劳动力队伍。更多的高级工人每月获得更多的工作天数、工作机会稀缺时的优先权以及赚取额外收入的机会。我们发现大教堂的策略与减少招聘摩擦和人员流动成本是一致的。