StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs - Assignment Example

Cite this document
Summary
In the paper “The U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs” the author evaluates the news article published in the online edition of the New York Times, which elucidates the condition of unemployment in the United States. The news article has put forth pertinent data…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER93.5% of users find it useful
U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs"

U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs The news article ‘U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs; Rate Drops to 9%’ published in the online edition of the New York Times elucidates the condition of unemployment in the United States. The news article has put forth pertinent data pertaining to unemployment and has also referred to the various other macroeconomic indicators that impact the health of the economy. To substantiate the point that the U.S economy is still not out of the woods, Catherine Rampell, the author of the news article has presented the following statistics: 80,000 Job Additions: The writer argues that while the hiring in October was better than what it was during the earlier months of the year, the employment scene can, at best, be described as having improved just marginally. The additional hiring of 80,000 workers last month is miniscule as this job gain only just keeps pace with population growth. The gain has done little to trim down the backlog of 14 million unemployed workers, avers the article. $787 billion stimulus package: The author has linked the failure of the stimulus package, announced by the U.S government at the peak of recession to the diminished chances of Barack Obama being reelected as the President of United States. 9% unemployment rate: The rate of unemployment in the United States has been hovering around the 9% mark for most part of this year now. The author compares the present rate of joblessness to the 4.6 % unemployment rate that was prevailing in the country a year before the recession began. The comparison illustrates that reaching the pre-recession glory is still a far cry for the United States. 39.4 weeks: Average time spent looking for a job: The article brings to light the difficult time the unemployed in the country are facing. The average time that an unemployed worker pounded the pavement touched 39.4 weeks in October, pretty close to the peak of 40.5 weeks recorded in September. The article suggests that the longer a person remains out of job, the more difficult it gets, for varied reasons, for that person to land a job. 34.3 hours: Average length of workweek: There has been no change in the length of the average workweek for a year now, reveals the article. The statistic remained at 34.3 hours in October as well. The author argues that companies invariably extend the workweek and make the present employees work longer before going in for fresh hiring. Therefore, a stagnant workweek does not bode well for job growth in the United States. The news article successfully integrates all information and apprises the reader why the threat of a double dip recession still looms large. There appears no bias in the article as it also refers to the positive indicators like growth in temporary help services and increase in hourly earnings of workers. The article helps the reader understand that the U.S. economy is affected by a myriad of causes. All the statistics used in the article are pertinent and point towards the different dimensions related to unemployment in the U.S. economy, a social and economic issue that touches the hearts of millions in the country. There is no mention in the article as to how these statistics were collected. Reference has been made to the fact that these statistics are from a latest report of the government. However, the article stops short of mentioning the government agency that has published the report as also the name of the report. The article could have been even better and more comprehensive had it made mention of the ‘Job Creation Agenda’ of the Obama administration which has direct impact on unemployment. All in all, the article has wonderfully articulated through the use of various statistics that the outlook ahead remains for modest growth only. Works Cited Rampell, Catheriner. “U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs; Rate Drops to 9%.” nytimes.com. Nov 4. 2011. Web. Nov 7. 2011. Appendix U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs; Rate Drops to 9% Could have been worse. That was the reaction on Friday to the government report that the nation’s employers added just 80,000 jobs in October. While the pace was not exactly robust, it was better than over this summer, when monthly hiring fell to 20,000. Upward revisions in the report for September and August gains contributed to the sense that the economic picture was a little less bleak. “The underlying momentum of the economy is better now than we thought it was a few months ago,” said Augustine Faucher, the director of macroeconomics at Moody’s Analytics. “We’re doing O.K., even if we’re not doing great. The odds of a double-dip recession are lower, at least.” But even without a second recession, frustration over the sluggish recovery could impede President Obama’s re-election chances. The administration is still haunted by its overly optimistic predictions, made in January 2009, of what the economy would look like once Congress passed a $787 billion stimulus package. White House economics advisers predicted that the stimulus would bring unemployment down to 6 percent by the end of this year and close to 5 percent by the end of 2012. Instead, unemployment dipped slightly to 9 percent in October from 9.1 percent, about where it has been all year long. The Federal Reserve is projecting about 8.6 percent for next year. While the Congressional Budget Office and other nonpartisan organizations have said, again and again, that the recession and recovery would have been even worse without government intervention, Republican presidential contenders argue that today’s weak economy proves that fiscal stimulus cannot create jobs. The Obama administration has taken the opposite tack, arguing that the economy needs more, not less, government assistance. “What I take from this report is that the economy is moving in the right direction, but it’s not moving there fast enough, and this is why the administration proposed the American Jobs Act,” said Alan B. Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The job gains in October were just barely enough to keep up with population growth, so they did not substantially reduce the backlog of 14 million unemployed workers. As a result, the unemployment rate is still about double what it was in the year before the recession began, 4.6 percent. “It will take years for the U.S. job market to return to its prerecession glory,” said Jason Schenker, president of Prestige Economics. Economists and politicians typically view the monthly jobs number as a crucial indicator of the nation’s economic health. But with so many potential game changers on the horizon in Europe and at home, the latest report may say little about what Americans should expect. The fate of Greece has been up in the air for about a year and a half, and this week the political wrangling has been particularly tumultuous in Athens. If the European bailout deal falls through for Greece, the effects could spread to other heavily indebted countries like Italy and perhaps set off another global financial crisis. “The outlook ahead remains for modest growth, but risks remain to the downside without a convincing resolution of the euro zone crisis, which is conspicuously absent at present,” said Nigel Gault, chief United States economist for IHS Global Insight. Mitigating these worries, however, is the case of MF Global, an American financial services company that filed for bankruptcy this week after making bad investments in European markets. The bankruptcy of the relatively small firm was taken in stride. “We had a primary dealer file for bankruptcy this week without seeing any of the waves from 2008 related to Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers,” said John Ryding, the chief economist at RDQ Economics, referring to two bigger financial firms whose collapses helped send global financial markets into a tailspin. Another potential wild card is Congress’s panel on deficit reductions, the so-called supercommittee. Talks have stalled, and the committee has less than three weeks before an alternative (and more draconian) plan might kick in. If government spending cuts are put into effect too quickly, they could be a severe drag on the economy and even derail the fragile recovery, economists have said. Governments at various levels have been steadily paring back, and have laid off, on net, 323,000 workers in the last year. There are other domestic policy unknowns, too. Congress has not yet decided whether to renew a 2 percent payroll tax cut and federal extensions of unemployment benefits — both set to expire in January. Many economists support the measures. Even if shocks like these do not materialize, the economic outlook is still troubling. Among the biggest challenges is the army of millions of Americans who have been out of work for months or even years. The average time an unemployed worker has been pounding the pavement is unusually high, at 39.4 weeks, just shy of the all-time high of 40.5 weeks recorded in September. People who have been out of work for longer spells have significantly more trouble getting rehired, for complicated reasons, including stigma and the deterioration of skills. “In interviews, they say they’re concerned that my base of skills has been antiquated because of this employment gap,” said Sarah Hoppe, 43, a former account manager in Toledo, Ohio, who was laid off in July 2009. “I tell them I have a good mind and an infinite capacity to learn,” she said, but employers still pass her over. “It’s absolutely demoralizing.” In addition to the upward revisions to previous job growth numbers, there were a few other positive signs in the latest jobs report. Employment in temporary help services rose slightly. Employers often use temp workers before taking the plunge and hiring permanent staff. Hourly earnings also rose 5 cents, after a gain of 6 cents in September. The length of the average workweek, however, remained flat at 34.3 hours, where it has been for about a year. Companies usually work their existing employees harder before hiring additional workers, so the stagnant workweek is not a particularly good sign for job growth. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1671 words, n.d.)
U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1671 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/sociology/1583551-article-project
(U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1671 Words)
U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1671 Words. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1583551-article-project.
“U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1671 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/sociology/1583551-article-project.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF U.S. Adds a Modest 80,000 Jobs

Impact of CAP on the Developing World

Some Facts about CAP: Currently 20 percent of the farmers get 80 percent of the CAP amount.... This is because 80% of the farm-area is held by 20% of the farmers.... This policy paper is for the attention of the Agriculture Minister of Britain, and is designed to explore whether: The CAP should be reformed, and if so why and how....
13 Pages (3250 words) Essay

Risk Assessment for Vertex-Speed Ltd. Durham County, UK

This created 1,200 jobs in that city, but the old Luton plant loss 1,900 jobs when the facility moved to Ellesmere Port.... Jaguar plants are located in Coventry and Birmingham producing over 100,000 cars.... Enfield hosts a research and development centre with 1000 employees. Nissan also manufactures cars in the UK for export and with the Euro being weak against the pound that cuts into the profits of the 300,000 cars made in Sunderland's state of the art facility....
14 Pages (3500 words) Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility

According to Friedman (1970), companies are not popularly known to have social roles, since their main obligation is to make sure that they are able to satisfy the interests of their stakeholders.... They are not thought to also be obligated to take part in social issues because… However, recent years have shown that there has been a change in such ideas, and companies are supposed to be not only responsible to the stakeholders but also to society as well (Carrasco, 2007)....
48 Pages (12000 words) Essay

Managerial Finance in a Health Spa Resort

The reporter describes Serene Hall, a health spa resort that is located in the center of England.... Today's hectic lifestyle most certainly requires an antidote to replenish the mind & soul, and Serene Hall exploited this business opportunity successfully.... nbsp;… Apart from the advantage in respect of location, Serene Hall enjoys the grandeur of a large stately home which has been renovated to create the perfect ambiance for the premier health spa it has become today....
9 Pages (2250 words) Assignment

Nature and Scope of Alcohol Abuse in West Midlands

Alcohol abuse is at times referred to as alcoholism (Coles & Porter, 2009).... There are two categories of alcoholics: those experiencing pleasure seeking or… antisocial behavior, and those experiencing anxiety driven characteristics which make them stay without alcohol for long duration, but drink uncontrollably when they start....
12 Pages (3000 words) Essay

Financial and Legal Advice from Denver Johnsons College Mate Bob Wilson

The turnaround of jobs increases significantly because the needed parts are in stock and on location.... The financial summary will indicate that Repairocon is a low-risk investment.... The cash flow is more than sufficient to cover the debts.... The first year sales are projected at £51,856....
24 Pages (6000 words) Research Paper

The Increase in the Emergent Occupational Heath Challenges

The demographic change; in terms of the birth rate is a significant aspect that influences the occupational health of the USA population, considering that the rate of replacement of the older generation of workers is lower, since most of the baby boomer workers are headed for retirement, yet there lacks an active replacement with sufficient experience in the jobs they hold....
15 Pages (3750 words) Essay

To What Extent Is Risky Behavior a Feature of Adolescence

This paper "To What Extent Is Risky Behavior a Feature of Adolescence?... focuses on the fact that young people are rebels who often protest against established rules and norms in their community.... If something is forbidden, they can ignore the prohibition and do what they want.... nbsp;… Adults believe that they can expect anything from adolescents due to their proneness to risky behaviours....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us