Unemployment and Job Retraining Programs

1559 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Unemployment rates in the us essay

In the current economy, where the unemployment rate is significantly higher than normal in comparison to previous years, the people are clamoring for solutions from their leaders in government. There have been plans in the works in the Obama administration to create more jobs, yet nothing has come to fruition. Currently, as Congress is teetering towards gridlock once again, the Republican House Speaker and House Majority Leader have proposed to President Obama that he include a plan called “Georgia Works” into his latest proposal to Congress. The program would find temporary jobs for people without any cost to the employers. These people would also receive job training while getting unemployment pay or payment from the government with the hopes that they would eventually be hired for a full time job (Calmes). In his State of the Union address, the President included the plan, but it brings up the question of scope of government. Should making programs that will keep Americans employed until they can find proper employment the responsibility of the federal government?

The United States was in a recession from December of 2007 to June of 2009, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research (National). During that time the unemployment rate was in the range of 5% to 9.5% (Labor). What is confusing to many American is that while they are being told the economy is growing and the recession is over, the unemployment rate is still fairly high. In fact, only four months after the recession “ended,” in October 2009 the unemployment rate peaked at 10.1%. It has been steadily decreasing over the past two years to its current 9.0%. President Obama proposed the American Jobs Act to rectify the unemployment problem in...

... middle of paper ...

...an Journal Of Political Science 54.4 (2010): 906-920. Academic Search Premier. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

Edwards, George C., First III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry. Government In America, People, Politics, And Policy. 11th ed. Longman, 2011. Print.

“Labor Force Statistics From the Current Population Survey.” data.bls.gov. Bureau of Labor Statistics. n.d. Web. 28 November 2011.

Office of Press Secretary. “Fact Sheet: The American Jobs Act.” whitehouse.gov. The White House. 8 September 2011. Web. 28 November 2011.

The National Bureau of Economic Research. National Bureau of Economic Research. n.d. Web. 28 November 2011.

“The long-term unemployed: The ravages of time.” The Economist. 1 October 2011. n.p. Web. 29 November 2011.

Silverleib, Alan. Obama vows to break jobs plan into separate bills after Senate setback. CNN, n.d. Web. 28 Nov 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Book Review of The Classic Slum

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    Whiteside, Noel and James Gillespie. "Deconstructing Unemployment: Developments in Britain in the Interwar Years," The Economic History Review, Vol. 44, No. 4. (Nov., 1991), pp. 665-682.

    Read More

  • Campaign Strategy: Barack Obama vs Mitt Romney

    2114 Words  | 5 Pages

    A key to victory this November is the unemployment rate. According to a Bloomberg National Poll conducted in March 8-11, 42% of Americans consider unemployment and jobs as “the most important issue facing the country right now” (Priorities). Although there has been 24 consecutive months of private sector employment growth, the Federal Reserve suggests that the numbers could fade in the coming months. The importance of creating more jobs cannot be stressed enough. No President in the recent era has been reelected with the unemployment rate above 7.2% (Roth). To paint a picture, in late 1982, the unemployment rate topped 10.8 under Ronald Reagan. However, about 36 months later, the rate dropped to 7.2% percent. The drastic drop in the n...

    Read More

  • The Economic Policies of President Eisenhower

    1903 Words  | 4 Pages

    This problem must be dealt with immediately with strong action. I suggest implementing federal public works projects as a way of creating jobs without burdening the government with additional expenses. Ideas for these public works projects are: the construction of a Saint Lawrence Seaway, and an Interstate Highway System. This system would be a massive undertaking and would be one of the largest construction projects of all time, but it would create many jobs for Americans who are no longer employed by the war effort (Branyan and Larsen, 251). The Republican party has not been happy with the nation's economic policies for quite some time.

    Read More

  • Unemployment and The Temporary Foreign Workers Program in Canada

    1771 Words  | 4 Pages

    Over five years after the 2008 economic crisis, the Canadian economy is still in rough waters. Annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth has been lagging below 2% and falling short of economists’ predictions (Hodgson, 2014), with no small part due to the stunted American and European recoveries. Tied into this is the country’s unemployment rate, which has hovered around 7% for over a year, while the rate for those aged 15-24 is nearly double, at 13.6% (Statistics Canada, 2014). Clearly, there is a need for more jobs in the country. At the same time, however, Canadian companies have been bringing in Temporary Foreign Workers (TFW) to fill what they call a “jobs gap”: that there are places in the country where the labour supply is nonexistent, and outside help is needed to fill certain roles. This has set off a firestorm of controversy, both in the commercial and political realms, with accusations of corporate greed and government apathy abounding, as unemployed Canadians are seemingly passed-over for available jobs. This paper will explore how TFWs are filling a necessary role in the economy, and are not “taking jobs” from Canadians, and will then analyze what governments and businesses can do to change the program, how immigration reform can play a role in filling jobs and lowering unemployment, and what risks a focus on a “skills gap” instead of a “jobs gap” can have on the economy.

    Read More

  • Current Macroeconomic Situation in the United States

    883 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Great Depression WPA

    906 Words  | 2 Pages

    Weber, Cameron M.. "How Flexible was the Works Progress Administration in Responding to Unemployment during the Great Depression?." . N.p.. Web. 3 Mar 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Great Recession

    670 Words  | 2 Pages

    Every few years, countries experience an economic decline which is commonly referred to as a recession. In recent years the U.S. has been faced with overcoming the most devastating global economic hardships since the Great Depression. This period “a period of declining GDP, accompanied by lower real income and higher unemployment” has been referred to as the Great Recession (McConnell, 2012 p.G-30). This paper will cover the issues which led to the recession, discuss the strategies taken by the Government and Federal Reserve to alleviate the crisis, and look at the future outlook of the U.S. economy. By examining the nation’s economic struggles during this time period (2007-2009), it will conclude that the current macroeconomic situation deals with unemployment, which is a direct result of the recession.

    Read More

  • Veteran Unemployment

    1947 Words  | 4 Pages

    This year, the United States is set to end over a decade of continuous combat operations in Afghanistan as well as reduce the size of the military in an effort to restrain the growing deficit of the federal government. While some welcome these actions, they will have a significant effect on the men and women of the armed forces. Since the military is now focused on returning to a peacetime posture and cutting personnel, more veterans will be entering the civilian market. These men and women, who come from all walks of American life, will have had vastly different experiences than their civilian counterparts. These veterans will have spent their formative years in a wartime military and while they have so much to offer society, often, their service and they as individuals are stereotyped with unflattering characteristics by civilian managers, which has a negative impact during their post-military search for employment. Some civilians see them as uneducated and suffering from a host of mental problems related to their service. This problem is not only relevant for recent veterans but for all of those who have volunteered to serve in the military. Veteran unemployment is a serious problem for the United States. Those who choose to serve in the military should not be negatively impacted in the civilian marketplace as a result of their sacrifice.

    Read More

  • Obama’s Marxist Agenda

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    Obama knows his economic plan will not produce jobs in the private sector. Blaming Republicans and George Bush is his only defense of his policies. The only offense he has is creating more public sector jobs and bailing out states to protect the jobs of his base; the unions.

    Read More

  • The Australian Labour Market

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    Changes in unemployment in Australia is a key issue in this news article. In the last twelve months, unemployment in Australia has dropped from 5.6 per cent to 5.1 per cent which is described as ‘a puzzle’ in the news article. Looking closer, there are some possible explanations for this change in statistics. Previously, unemployment in Australia increased in the time of the recent global economic downturn, although didn’t suffer as poorly as other countries according to data from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. However, while unemployment rose, so too did the number of people in other forms of underemployment such as part-time and casual work (OECD, 2010). According to Sappey et. al., the status of employment requires workers to only work one hour per week and so therefore many underemployed workers receive the same employed status in this data as full-time workers (Sappey et. al., 2010, p. 111). According to the OECD, under-employment increased significantly during the downturn, rather than unemployment. Unemployment has dropped in the last twelve months but that does not mean that those who have obtained work have gained full-time employment. In fact, according to the Australia labour market trends of the last twelve months, it is more than likely that those who have become an ‘employed’ statistic rather than ‘unemployed’ have not gained full-time work. This news article quotes figures fro...

    Read More

  • The Government Stimulus

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    Charles E. Grassley. "The Stimulus Bill Will Increase the Federal Deficit Yet Not Fix the Economy." At Issue: The Federal Budget Deficit. Ed. Susan Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Web. 28 Apr. 2011

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay: Getting Americans Back To Work

    177 Words  | 1 Pages

    Today, nearly 12 million of our fellow Americans are unemployed. Our hardest hit communities are struggling to hold on. The trend is not reversing. Government has not taken strong enough action. So what can we do about it?

    Read More

  • The Housing Crisis

    987 Words  | 2 Pages

    Even though some people are against that idea, I think putting the government a bit more in control would help move things along faster and smoother. The President needs to get citizens without jobs working again. He could set up work programs for citizens to plant trees, build parks, assemble playgrounds, grow gardens, paint murals or even put on live performances. All of these things would not only give people jobs, but it would bring people together and allow families to bond. That is one of the great things our country emphasizes, family and togetherness....

    Read More

  • Different Types of Unemployment

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mouhammed, A. H. (2011). Important theories of unemployment and public policies. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 12(5), 100-110.

    Read More

  • Unemployment and Underemployment in America

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    Daly, Mary, Bart Hobijn, and Joyce Kwok. 2015. “Jobless Recovery Redux?” FRBSF Economic Letter 2015-18

    Read More

More about Unemployment and Job Retraining Programs

Open Document