Introduction: The high and persistent levels of unemployment in the United States have become one of the most debated topics among economists, policy makers and the unemployed for more than a decade; especially its impact and best approach to resolving the increasing unemployment rates. It is important to note that as much of a global phenomenon unemployment it is, unemployment occurs in numerous forms, economists have broken down unemployment into three main types: Frictional, structural and cyclical. The in-cooperation of these forms is significant to this paper for better understanding of current trends and identifying characteristics of structural unemployment. Frictional Unemployment arises from the ever-present movement of people into and out of jobs, it depicts the period where the quantity of labor demanded just equals the quantity of labor supplied at going market wage1. Examples include first time job searchers like college graduates or previously employed workers who are returning to work. A pattern of the matching process occurs in frictional unemployment similar to structural unemployment but the distinctive features are frictional unemployment is more of a voluntary nature and it’s a lot shorter compared to structural unemployment2. Structural unemployment can be defined as a form of unemployment where at a given wage rate, the quantity of labor supplied exceeds the quantity of labor demanded because there is a fundamental mismatch between the number of 1 Ehrenberg,R.G.and Robert S.S. (2012).Modern Labor Economics:Theory and Public Policy,11thEdition.Boston,MA:Pearson Education,Inc. p 502 2 Ibid p 501-502 people that want to work and the number of jobs available that consequently lengthen unemploy... ... middle of paper ... ...Rikin, J. (1995). The end of work: The decline of the global labor force and the dawn of the post-market era. United States: Putnam publishing group. Ryan Avent, (2011, Feb 15th). America's jobless recovery: The return of structural unemployment concerns.Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/21015977 Scott Bittle and Jean Johnson. (2012). Where did the jobs go-- and how do we get them back? :Your guided tour to America's employment crisis. New York: William Morrow Paperbacks. Shimer R., The Probability of Finding a Job, American Economic Review, vol. 98, no. 2 (May 2008), pp. 268-273. Silva J. & Khan A., (2010).Our two cents on structural unemployment.Retrieved from http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/sb/ababj1110/index.php?startid=10 Valletta R. and Kuang K.“Is Structural Unemployment on the Rise?,”FRBSF Economic Letter, No. 2010-34, November 8, 2010, p. 3.
Moreover, the inflationary recession period deemed a “stagflation” was coupled with rising economic inequality as the top one percent of earners saw their income rise by 45.4 percent from 1977 to 1990. In Stud Terkel’s Working, this disparity is clear between boss and employee, as bosses such as Dave Bender feel uncomfortable in his status as a boss. Similarly, Larry Ross, ex-president of a conglomerate and consultant, describes the “lonely life of an executive”, who must now adhere to the computer and other technological phenomena that have made managing the workplace rather mechanic and demanding. The stress of cutting labor due to a new corporate model also fueled the restructuring of business to fit a profit-motivated, globalized economy. While many bosses were gaining employment, unions began to see their disunion due to the forces of automation and leaner corporate mechanisms. As Levinson writes, “traditional skills” became obsolete in the face of automation while many longshoreman, who were fathers, could not train and bring their sons up in the business because “the jobs were
Levine, Linda. “The Labor Market During the Great Depression and the Current Recession”. 19 June 2009. 6 March 2010. < http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/R40655_20090619.pdf>.
A key to victory this November is the unemployment rate. According to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted in March 8-11, 42% of Americans consider unemployment and jobs as “the most important issue facing the country right now” (Priorities). Although there has been 24 consecutive months of private sector employment growth, the Federal Reserve suggests that the numbers could fade in the coming months. The importance of creating more jobs cannot be stressed enough. No President in the recent era has been reelected with the unemployment rate above 7.2% (Roth). To paint a picture, in late 1982, the unemployment rate topped 10.8 under Ronald Reagan. However, about 36 months later, the rate dropped to 7.2% percent. The drastic drop in the n...
Jacoby, Dan. "Looking Backward on Labor in the United States." Working USA 3.5 (2000): 27. ProQuest. Web. 9 Apr. 2014. http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.apus.edu/docview/236486399?accountid=8289
First, Structural unemployment occurs when the entire makeup of an economic system experiences fundamental problems such as uneven labor distribution across industries and a lack of skilled workers to fill these positions. Structural unemployment is not caused by changes in supply and demand as the other major types of unemployment. Instead, this kind of unemployment happens because of significant changes in the use of new technologies such as robotics and a.i. Advancements can create
In addition to the negative consequences in developing countries, it also has negative consequences in the US. Not only is there a loss of jobs domestically, it also effects individuals who still have jobs in the US. When there is an increased supply of workers companies are able to both pay less and require more qualified personnel. According to Lawrence Mishel, of the Economic Policy Institute, an additional supply of workers is one of the primary factors of the wage stagnation experienced throughout America (n.
Areas affected by unemployment have little hope of major improvement, and the longer that high levels of unemployment last the...
Mouhammed, A. H. (2011). Important theories of unemployment and public policies. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 12(5), 100-110.
Therefore, there is a very large amount of people who want a job and because of the high unemployment rate, a large amount of people are actively seeking work, but there is only a small amount of people who are successful at finding a job. When the unemployment rate rises, the number of people who quit goes down. As a result, this makes it even harder for those people who are actively searching for a job to actually find work because of the fact that there are fewer people quitting or leaving their place of
Mutikani, L. (2009, 10 9). Structural unemployment crisis stalking U.S. economy. Retrieved from Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/10/06/businesspro-us-usa-economy-unemployment-idUSTRE5955NE20091006
In a recap, the three policies introduced, the Unemployment Reformation Act of 2059, the Infinite Education Opportunities Program Act, and the Unity Tax, will be a vital part in restoring and surpassing expectations for decreasing the percentage of Americans unemployed by ten to fifteen percent within the next six to eight months. I believe that with these policies the chances of a recession will not occur for a long period of time. For that matter, a recession may not occur again depending on how successful the unemployment plans develop. Nevertheless, I predict that by the year 2109 the employment rate for Americans will reach eighty-three to eighty-five percent.
Persistently high unemployment creates huge costs for individuals and for the economy as a whole. Many of these costs, especially the long-term social costs, are difficult to assess by measuring.
That said, the advantages of technological change outweigh the associated training costs. Consequently, governments and economists support technological change despite the risks of structural unemployment. How does an economy recover from structural unemployment and what government actions can help facilitate this recovery? Despite the support of government and economists on technological change, the resulting structural unemployment can never be left un-checked. In fact, measures should be put in place to facilitate recovery of this type of unemployment.
Lower GDP for the economy also one of the consequences of unemployment in current time. High rate of this issue implies the economy is operating below full capacity and inefficient so that it will lead to lower output and incomes. Because people who are searching for their work usually will spend less in purchasing goods and
Daly, Mary, Bart Hobijn, and Rob Valletta. 2011. “The Recent Evolution of the Natural Rate of Unemployment.”