Where Are All the Jobs - Research Paper Example

? Due There are very few people living in the United s right now that has not felt the repercussions of the tragic state of the current economy. That tragedy is most greatly reflected in the massive unemployment we have experienced. and continue to experience presently. If you are someone suffering from unemployment and struggling in the current job market, you know how awful it has gotten. If you are someone that has been fortunate enough to remain employed you certainly know someone that has been less fortunate. The unemployment statistics have never been as poor as they are today, at least not in decades. In fact, there is a possibility that is far worse than we have been led to believe. The United States unemployment issues is a huge topic be tossed back and forth, by both candidates, in the presidential election. In order to understand the overall unemployment issue it is necessary to grasp what does “unemployment” actually mean to the government? What do the statistics truly reveal about the current unemployment crisis and what has the current administration done to improve or prevent it? Generally speaking one would define “unemployment” as anyone who is not employed. It seems rather self explanatory, and yet the government has a different way of perceiving the concept, as well as, a number of categorizations that make up the statistics. In the eyes of the government an unemployed person is someone who is able to work and has been seeking work within the given month. All of these individuals, 16 years of age and older, will fall into this category and therefore become part the current statistical assessment. It is upon these people that we receive the current, official unemployment rate. That rate, as of August 2012, is stated to be 8.1 percent.("Labor force statistics," 2012) The problem with this percentage is the restrictions on whom they are judging their assessments. They do not include the long-time unemployed who, due the nature of the job market, have given up the search for the, nearly, impossible. They do not include, previously, stay at home mothers or fathers that have, due to the economic crisis, found it necessary to find work but are unable to do so. For this reason, there are many Americans whose unemployment is not being immediately reflected in the above percentage. The government, also, has specific groupings to justify the different categories within unemployment. Natural unemployment reflects literally, the natural acceptance and level of unemployment which is typical. Frictional unemployment allows for those employees that become unemployed intentionally, transitionally, but have yet to find new employment. Structural unemployment is when the skills of job seekers are not the skills employers are needing. Cyclical unemployment, is not considered a direct part of natural unemployment, it occurs with the success and failures within the business industry. Seasonal employees and “classically” unemployed are, also, included is separate categories. The Bureau of Labor Statistics assures that all people, in all forms of unemployment are ultimately assessed, but are statistically not included in the official unemployment rate. The unfortunate problem with this system is that it is not providing the overall data all together; if it did then the United States at this moment is closer to 25 percent, “…the same as during the Great Depression.”( Amadeo, 2012) According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics unemployment was at the lowest it had been in many year in 2007, and the a sudden rise, followed by a continual rise over the last four years, until a sudden, subtle drop in the present year; as seen in the chart below-right.(“Labor force statistics,” 2012) In comparison to other countries it has been It is shocking. In 2002 the United States has the lowest unemployment rate worldwide. By 2010 we were the highest, as seen in the chart above-right, higher than the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy.(Ydstie, 2012) There was a hiring spike in the month of July 2012, which included 25,000 manufacturing jobs, 29,000 restaurant jobs, 7,000 retail jobs, and education and health services gained 38,000 new positions.(Rugaber, 2012) However, it should be noted that despite these jobs the numbers were barely enough to shift the unemployment percentage to lower by 0.2 percent; barely a drop in an ocean of need. With the impending presidential election in November only a short time away unemployment is a relevant topic with both candidates. Current President and Democratic re-elect, Barack Obama’s, goals involve further cutting of taxes and cutting of government spending in order free the private sector; while his contender, Republican candidate, Mitt Romney, believes the better route is to invest in education, infrastructure, research, and other programs that will allow the economy to start healing itself.(Blodget, 2012) The Obama campaign is, also, currently relying heavily on the current drop in the unemployment percentage, claiming that this is the result of the jobs that he has created. However, there are those that believe that these small positive turns in unemployment may have more to do with natural occurrences within any economy, and far less with anything that Obama himself has done. The solutions of either candidate have advantages and disadvantages and many variables involved, the people will decide in November whose plan they have greater faith in. However, it is necessary and essential review the tract record of the current administration before securing him a further four years in the White House. When Barack Obama came into office in 2008 he was handed an economy already struggling. However, in the four years since, he has continued to watch the unemployment rates rise and has done, very little, tangibly to improve it; whatever efforts he may have made would appear to be less than sufficient. He has spent greater time promoting and eagerly wanting to implement his new healthcare reform, famously and infamously referred to as “Obamacare,” which has many requirements that would force employers to provide insurance plans if you employ above a certain number of staff. This may encourage employers to continue to not hire in order to avoid those new insurance requirements. Is that feasible when unemployment is already an issue? President Obama has said that he inherited the greatest financial crisis faced by any president since Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, according to Joshua Green and Peter Coy, in their article, “Good or Luck? The Truth About the Obama Recovery,” explains that that is a very poor comparison. Roosevelt was willing to take up “sweeping policies” even if they were unproven or quite risky. This kind of aggressive experimentation with the ultimate goal of doing whatever is necessary to improve the country is kind of resolve and strong leadership that cannot be expected from Obama.(2012) In the end, the unemployment crisis is not simply going to resolve itself and of something is not done to stabilize this country it is likely to get much worse. Those who are unemployed, struggling, trying to get by, and attempting to support themselves or their families, willing to work need the opportunity of employment. Experts admit that a solid solution, a plan, must be implemented as soon as possible. Many believe that American is faltering and the current administration has left it to flounder. A resolution must be found to allow the United States to regain its footing and allow its people to go back to work. This is basic and sound logic that all Americans regardless of beliefs, ideals, viewpoints, affiliations, and political parties can agree upon. References Amadeo, K. (2012). Types of unemployment: Understand all the different types, especially the three main ones. Retrieved from http://useconomy.about.com/od/Employment/tp/Types-Of-Unemployment.htm Blodget, H. (2012 , June 15). Obama vs romney: Here's who's right about the economy read more. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-vs-romney-economy-2012-6 Green , J., & Coy, P. (2012, March 21). Lucky or good? the truth about the obama recovery. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-21/lucky-or-good-the-truth-about-the-obama-recovery Rugaber, C. S. (2012, August 4). Unemployment rate rises to 8.3 percent as u.s. adds 163,000 jobs in july: Bls. Huff Post-Business. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/unemployment-rate-jobs-report-bls_n_1736843.html United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2012). Labor force statistics from the current population survey ( LNS14000000). Retrieved from Bureau of Labor Statistics website: http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000 Ydstie, J. (2012). On jobs, u.s. ranks worse than similar nations. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129638136 Read More