Unemployment
Definition of Unemployment
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the US labor force that is unemployed. It is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by the sum of the number of people unemployed and employed. An individual is counted as unemployed if they are over the age of 16 and actively looking for a job, but cannot find one. Students, who choose not to work, and retirees, are not counted in the unemployment rate.
In March 2001:
Description
Total civilian population 211,171,000(Excluding those under 16, members of the military, and persons in institutions)
- Not in Labor force 69,304,000 (Retired, students, individuals choosing not to work)= Labor force 141,868,000 (Total population minus those not in labor force)- Employed 135,780,000 (Individuals with jobs)= Unemploye 6,088,000 (Individuals without a job and actively searching)
Unemployment Rate =6,088,000
135,780,000 + 6,088,000 = 4.3%
The unemployment rate for the month of March 2001 was 4.3 percent, a tenth of a point increase from the January and February 2001 rate of 4.2%. The number of individuals employed decreased by 86,000.
An unemployment rate of 4.3 percent for March 2001 is the highest unemployment rate since July 1999, but only slightly higher than the 3.9 to 4.1 percent range from October 1999 to the end of 2000. Prior to that, the unemployment rate had been in a steady decline since shortly after the last recession in 1990-1991. The average monthly increase in employment was approximately 155,000 in 2000 and 220,000 in 1999. For almost ten years, unemployment has fallen and the number of employed persons has increased by more than 15 million.
In March 2001, the number of jobs decreased by 86,000, the largest monthly decrease since 1991. Job losses were most prominent in the manufacturing sector (81,000 jobs), but there were also losses in the retail trade sector (46,000 jobs). These losses were partially offset by employment increases experienced in the construction and finance sectors.
Growth in employment in 2000 was 1.9 million; in 1999, the increase in employment equaled 2.8 million.
Changes
For most of 2000, unemployment remained between 3.9 and 4.1 percent of the labor force. In the first three-quarters of 2000, the numbers of individuals in the labor force were i...
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...te of growth in real GDP increased to 3.9, with the last three years being over 4.3 percent per year. A five percent increase from 1999 to 2000 is the highest level of yearly increase since 1984.
The recent upward trend (until the last two quarters) in economic growth has been accompanied by increases in the rates of growth of consumption spending, investment spending and exports. Productivity increases; decreases in unemployment, expansion in the labor force, and increases in the amount of capital have allowed real GDP to grow at faster rates. Yet during this same time period, consumers have reduced their savings.
Conclusion
After reviewing the unemployment, inflation and the GDP history of the last decade it is obvious why the United States economy has been ranked number one in the world. The economy has averaged a 5% or less unemployment rate, a 3.5% or less inflation rate and a GDP rate that has fluctuated from 2.2% to 5% throughout the nineties. The future outlook of the next decade is promising, however, many economists are skeptical when asked if this trend can continue at its current rate.
References
www.econedlink.org
www.economicsameria.org
In conclusion, the current macroeconomic situation in the United States is characterized by moderate growth because of better economic conditions that were brought by the events of 2013. The country has experienced moderate economic growth since the 2008 global recession but has shown real signs of momentum. While the country is not concerned about recession or inflation, the rate of unemployment is still a major challenge despite improved consumer and business confidence. As a result, the Federal Open Market Committee or Federal Reserve System needs to adopt fiscal and monetary policy initiatives that help address the unemployment issue and promote high economic growth.
Quarterly GDP changed a good amount during 2000-2001. Although the numbers changed throughout both years, there was not a recession. A recession is when there are two consecutive down terms. If there was a recession, the easy money policy would be put into affect. This is discussed along with the Discount Rate.
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers
"Unemployment and Underemployment." State of Working America. Economic Policy Institute, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Areas affected by unemployment have little hope of major improvement, and the longer that high levels of unemployment last the...
...he rise, as record numbers of workers have left the workforce due to various impediments to employment, many of which have been brought about by our own government.
159). Evans(2015) stated the non-governmental unemployment, “When this unemployment number of 23.1% is considered, it is no wonder that those in positions of authority hesitate to use it”(pg. 160). He continued if they add the number of people who does not want a job, this number would increase from 23.1% to 37.2%. Evans (2015) then wrote about “The problem with labor force participation” (pg. 161). Evans (2015) emphasized that the unemployment rate only decreased because people are withdrawing from the labor force but not because jobs increased. He stated that the unemployment rate decreased by about 4% and that the participation rate also has decreased by about 4 percent from 67.3% to 62.8% which is a prove that people are withdrawing from the labor
The United States’ economy has slowly been recovering since the Great Recession ended in 2009. The country’s gross domestic product has increased steadily since the end of the recession (1). The consumer price index has slowly increased as well (2). The civilian unemployment rate has decreased significantly from its peak of 10.0% in October of 2009 (3). It has not decreased smoothly; rather, there were many small spikes caused by several short increases in unemployment each year (3).
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.
This source is a chart with statistics directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding unemployment rates in the U.S. in 2010 and 2011 It separates the population by age, sex, race and ethnicity. This information is geared towards people looking for precise numbers and statistics because it give the data but does not explain the numbers to the readers.
The unemployment rate has dramatically increased over the last several months. This increase has created many complications for the American people. Although the United States economy has created over 7 million jobs, there is still a long way to go until the economy is back on track.
Today, the unemployment rate in America has been the lowest it’s been in the past seven years as a result of not only the government’s efforts, but the workers as well. There are multiple categories of jobs that were a substantial factor in lowering the rate. They included the civilian labor force participation rate of 62.8 percent, the 6.6 million involuntary part-time workers, the 2.1 million people marginally attached to the labor force (they do not have a job, but are not counted as unemployed), and the 756 thousand discouraged workers (people who believe that there are no jobs available for them); in the past year, the amount of people in these categories has decreased by 888 thousand in terms of those long-term unemployed. Despite the low unemployment rate, there are still nearly five million job vacancies nationwide that should work to be rectified as soon as possible. Comparatively, however, the United States is not at all behind in terms of the overall unemployment rate itself, but falls short of having the lowest unemployment rate internationally. Surprisingly, the world’s most populous countries of India and China have a lower unemployment rate than the United States; it’s less than four percent! (Trading Economics) Regardless, it serves as an example that while the overall unemployment rate may be low, it can go lower; although the majority of people are enjoying the surplus of jobs, five percent of Americans are still
People need money to purchase all kinds of goods and services they needed every day and sometimes, for goods or services they desire to own. To fulfill that, they have the essential need to earn money. In order to earn money, they must work in either in fields related to their interests or to their qualifications. However, people will meet different challenges during their jobs-hunting sessions, such as many candidates competing for a job vacancy; salaries offered are lower than expected salaries and economic crisis or down which causes unemployment. Unemployment is what we will be looking into in this report. Dwidedi (2010) stated that unemployment is defined as not much job vacancies are available to fulfill the amount of people who want to work and can work according to the current pay they can get for a job they chose to work as. There are four major types of unemployment: frictional, structural, cyclical and seasonal unemployment.
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.
Daly, Mary, Bart Hobijn, and Rob Valletta. 2011. “The Recent Evolution of the Natural Rate of Unemployment.”