Free «Rate of Unemployment» Essay Sample

The paper analyzes the article from Forbes magazine titled “Tackling the Real Unemployment Rate: 12.6%” by Louis Efron. The percentage of unemployment is higher than that reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is because it only considers those people who have searched for a job in the past 4 weeks. This measure ignores many people in different categories who ought to be considered unemployed because they are marginally unattached and others who are unemployed but are not looking for a job because they have given up hope of finding one. These people are approximately 7.5 million including those who are marginally unattached. The report also does not consider those doing the wrong jobs because they could not find jobs in their right careers unemployed. Consequently, the United States has over 10 million people who are marginally productive because they do not work in professions where they can use their potential wholly and contribute to the growth of the economy. The article further suggests that the number of people feeling the effects of unemployment rose from 12.4% to 12.6%. The two graphs support these data; they show the differences between two unemployment rates in the past decade. This indicates that the effects of unemployment are still being felt by the public and have increased in the past month. Consequently, millions of people are struggling to survive, which is adversely affecting the economy. The way out is to create quality employment to absorb these people into their right professions to ensure that they show their maximum working potential.

There are many side effects of creating the wrong type of jobs; these include unsatisfied workers, low productivity and work quality, high turnover and operating costs, financial, social, and household constraints. This situation can only be rectified by creating the right jobs for people so that the economy can increase the potential of its human resources. This implies getting people to work in the sectors in which they have the requisite skills. Those absorbed in different sectors from the ones they are skilled in should only be those willing to work there. As a result, there is growth of the economy due to the contributions made by a highly skilled workforce. Furthermore, the skilled workforce becomes more useful as it gains experience, thus increasing its productivity, which is reflected by the economy growth. This experience is improved if the worker is regularly trained and provided with an environment that encourages people to be creative. As a result, people working in professions and positions that are conducive for innovations are more productive than their counterparts working in different environments. In addition, innovations create new jobs and professions that did not exist before. This is the effect certain inventions, such as the first personal computers and portable cameras, have had on the world. They have eliminated some jobs but created thousands of others. Furthermore, the information technology sector lost only one per cent of its jobs during the recession. This indicates that innovations are capable of creating jobs that withstand even the worst economic times.

The article is very correct because it articulates the issue of unemployment from the perspective of workers. It does not base its argument on the numbers provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but delves into deeper details, capturing issues that many government officials ignore. Many people are currently working in the wrong jobs because they cannot find jobs that match their qualifications. Consequently, these people are not comfortable in their jobs and are always looking for better jobs, which implies that they are marginally attached to their current jobs. These people only report to work because they need money to pay their bills, which they can only earn from working in the few available jobs. Therefore, the only difference between these people and the unemployed is that they have a job that they do not like. Consequently, these people are unable to contribute to the growth of the economy since their skills are underutilized. This is a huge loss because the economy is driven by highly productive people working in their right professions. These people are able to come up with new revolutionary ideas that shape and improve the future of the country. Therefore, the economy is likely to recover slowly because of the millions of people working in the wrong jobs. Furthermore, business organizations are experiencing high employees’ turnover because most of their staff is only marginally attached. Hence, they move from one job to another, which increases the expenses of the organizations because they have to hire employees regularly. Consequently, employers are unable to increase their wages because their businesses are also struggling since they are unable to retain their employees. These factors have increased the effects of unemployment which has contributed to the percentage of people feeling the effects of unemployment increasing, even though unemployment has slightly reduced.

Economic growth creates wealth which, in turn, creates jobs. However, the economy grows at a steady rate if highly skilled and qualified professionals are working in the right sectors. This is because human resource is very important in any economic activity that is undertaken. This implies that the economy of the United States is likely to struggle for some time until it has absorbed most of its educated people in the right jobs. The economy was stable a few years ago prior to the recession because most people had the right jobs. This economic downturn affected most organizations, which led to these people losing their jobs. The economy has recovered from that, but the growth is sluggish, which explains why most people cannot get jobs befitting their qualifications. The economy will recover when real unemployment levels drop to about 6%.