Unemployment during the Great Recession - Assignment Example

Unemployment during the Great Recession The recession that has been recently experienced by the US has a negative impact on the financial, social and psychological side of every US citizen. The main area where the recession has caused very heavy damage is the area of employment. Although, during this period, organizations have gained heavy profits but they have to provide good quality jobs to the citizens of the US. The job market scenario since the start of the recession is such that there is little to zero job security, the pay rates and the conditions for working are its worse.

According to the Iowa Policy Project, out of the total US workforce of 2005, 26% of these workers are on jobs that are low in standard than a normal job. This means that these individuals are working in low paying freelance, contractual and part time jobs and out of these individuals who constitute the 26%, 27% of the employees were only working with a retirement plan and 39% were working with a health insurance. According to Allan S. Blinder, an economist at the Princeton University stated that in the next two decades, the US employers are going to outsource and about 22% to 29% of the US jobs will be available to offshore employees.

The statistics of the US Bureau of Labour Statistics show that during 1979 to 2000, the number of temporary workers working within the US rocketed up from around 0.4 million to 3.9 million which is an eye opening increase of 760 percent and during 2000, the total percentage of the workforce of the US working as temporary/part-time workers was 2%. The condition of the US work force is such that they are constantly working day and night since they are being paid in accordance to piece rate or an equal system.

They do not have time to take part in social life and they even have to ignore their recreational side. This is because they know that the job market is in such a bad position that if they seem to produce less even as freelance or part-time workers, they will end up losing their jobs. During 20009 the government of the US increased the minimum wage of employees to $7.25 but this increase is on lower than the minimum wage paid 30 years down the road in context of real value. Another major concern is the pay accordance to education, those who were earning minimum wages during 1979 at least had a high school degree this constituted a total of 57.

5% of the total workforce of 1979 (Economic Policy Institute 2012). During 2008, the number of people of the workforce who had a high school degree has increased to 71.9% but the minimum wage rate has declined to $6.55 during 2008. During the period of 1999 to 2000 the number of jobs being created declined from somewhere around 8.5 million to 6 million and during the same period, number of people experiencing long-term unemployment has increased from somewhere around 12% to 38%. During the same period, individuals aging among 16-24 have faced heavy unemployment where as the rate of employment of the adults have even decreased, but an increase in the rate of employment of seniors have been witnessed.

Works Cited"Minimum wage workers: better educated, worse compensated | Economic Policy Institute." Economic Policy Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 July 2012.