http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/06/business/la-fi-jobs-20130907
Unemployment rate fell down to 7.3% last month, but it mostly fell for the wrong reason. More discouraged Americans gave up looking for work as the percentage of the population in the labor force dropped for the third consecutive month. Having Americans give up looking for work is not going to help the economy, but there is not much that can be done to be encourage these Americans to keep looking for work because even with the improving labor market, it is not improving nearly as fast as we need it too, but then again when does anything improve as fast as we need it.
"The economy is still healing. It's just not nearly as rapid a growth as we'd like to see," said economist Daniel Seiver, a finance professor at San Diego State.
Economists are now digging into the data quickly, but they have found uncomforting signs that could give Fed policymakers pause on deciding whether it's time to reduce their bond-buying stimulus program.
It is a sad time when people have seriously stopped looking for work. I can't quite grasp how people defend our country's drop in unemployment when they don't recognize why the rate has dropped. People have given up on the search process because employers do not have the money to hire more people.
ReplyDeleteI think that the fall in motivation for the average American person is a serious problem. If the labor force falls, this will just lead to more people seeking public assistance simply because they are too lazy or not motivated enough to work when jobs are right in front of them. When the labor force and be increased, the likeliness of more labor-intensive jobs like the ones in factories will appear as well, thus decreasing the unemployment rate and increasing the labor force.
ReplyDeleteThis is what really angers me about our current administration. They would rather flaunt around twisted figures than tell us what really is going on. They brag abot lowering the unemployment rate but really all that is going on is that people are quitting in a sense. Why should a government give people an incentive to stop looking for work? Welfare benefits should only be given to those that are currently looking for work and not to those who have given up. We as a country are encouraging people to be lazy and that will not help our nation at all down the road.
ReplyDeleteCould it be government programs such as welfare that are making people want to work less? In my opinion, there are way too many assistance programs such as food stamps and welfare that almost encourage spending of money the government doesn't have. If you look at any person that is currently unemployed, they are somehow getting money through the government one way or another and i believe this is a part of why many people aren't currently looking for jobs. And of course there are many other factors involved in the unemployment percentage considering its such a generalized topic.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of unemployment blogs have similar topics considering that there is only a small selection of articles to choose from. I completely agree that we need to get more people looking for work. I don't think that people have the motivation to go find a job, and they think that they can just live under the government for their whole life.
ReplyDeleteYou are right that part of the problem is that people are giving up and you are right that those people are having a negative impact upon the economy. However there are jobs being created and there are people hiring. Its not all entirely negative
ReplyDeleteIt is good that the unemployment rates are going down. It may not be entirely because people are giving up hope of finding a job. Maybe some of the people who are unemployed have decided to go back to school to obtain a higher education. That way they look better to employers when they re-enter the job market.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what most of the comments have been saying. The hidden meaning beneath this statistic is unsettling. The fact that over 300,000 unemployed citizens have simply given up their search makes apparent the bleakness of the situation. It is just not within many private firms' interests to continue hiring workers when they are strapped on cash, and people realize this.
ReplyDeleteI think we can't forget the fact that in order to create jobs, the economy needs to be conducive to growing business. This is one of the most anti-business climates of the economy in history. With so many regulations, uncertainties, government intervention, whispers of a minimum wage hike, and OBAMACARE (which is actually forcing many businesses to cut employees or hours btw), businesses have no interest in hiring. This is part of the reason why we see such a mass exodus from the labor market.
ReplyDeleteWhile I don't see how this figure is being "flaunted" by being released to the public, I agree with most of the people here when they say that it is a universally bad sign when people are just giving up. It really makes known the bleakness of the economy, especially for those who are unemployed and currently looking for work. The reality is that there are not enough jobs for everybody to be able to "stop being lazy" and enter the workforce. Once the economy rebounds, firms will be able to hire more workers because of the increased income they pull in.
ReplyDeleteIt certainly is not a good sign when people give up looking for work because no one is hiring. But some employers have definitely not tried as hard as they could to hire more employees and create new jobs. Plenty of the largest corporations in America are sitting on top of huge amounts of money which they are more than willing to use to donate to political candidates or other things, but are not willing to use to pay new workers, which is one of the reasons the unemployment rate is so high.
ReplyDeleteI agree Dave, it is honestly a sad time when people have stopped looking for work. Times are tough so people are just giving up and that can't happen. The lack of motivation is an issue for sure. People are relying on the government for money and the work ethic is diminishing.
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