Combating Unemployment in America

Unemployment has been a problem throughout the United States since the beginning of our economic structure. In the most obvious sense, unemployment means "being without a job." The term unemployment is one description of the economic condition of a society at any given time. Low unemployment means the majority of the labor force is involved in, or looking for steady work. On the other hand, high unemployment is an indication of an economy in recession, or even worse. This implies that a sizable percentage of the labor force is not currently working. Until they actually start working again, they will be counted in government data as "unemployed" (Shapiro, 1996).

The Bureau of the Census in the Department of Commerce collects and tabulates the unemployment statistics in the united states. Next, this information is given to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) which is held in the labor department. The BLS then calculates the unemployment rate and publishes the statistics. Every month, agents revisit a set amount of households all over the United States. Some economists criticize the government’s method of calculating unemployment because it fails to include "discouraged workers" in its data (Shapiro, 1996). "Discouraged workers" include those who have looked for a job over a large period of time and have

simply quit. For this reason, critics say, real unemployment may be extensively larger than one might think.

Throughout the 1900’s there has been numerous polls taken that shocked everyone. The unemployment rate for those who cannot read and write is dramatically higher than for those who can (Simons, 1989). Illiteracy is a hidden problem throughout the United States (Simons, 1989). Another poll taken showed that an estimated 23 percent of Americans can read a stop sign but cannot fill out an employment form. Of those who can read and write, large numbers of adults cannot read and write past the fifth grade level (Zycher, 1995). How are people going to get a job if they are not even able to inform the company of their skills?

Another interesting fact, is The severest deficient demand in the United States occurred during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. In fact, at one point the unemployment rate had raised to twenty five percent in 1933. Fortunately, after world war one had begun the need for military had decreased the rate to as low as 1.2 percent (Reynolds, 1994). On the other hand, most people did not even pay any attention to the unemployment rate, because the considered laziness to be the main cause.