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Post by Forever Sunshine on Sept 4, 2013 11:05:29 GMT -5
The falling unemployment rate says great things about the economy. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes clear that this drop is nothing to cheer about after all.
The rate is falling mainly because the number of Americans working or actively looking for work is shrinking. That's technically called the labor force participation rate, and it's at just 63.4% -- a level not seen since the 1970s.
Put quite simply: Many Americans no longer want to work. It's a phenomenon that Bob Funk, former chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, calls "the Great Shift," and it's not sustainable. "This is a period defined by the Boomer retirement, Millennial frustration, and growing reliance on government programs," he said, adding that it's a "tragedy in the making."
Funk is now CEO of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing firm, and released a white paper this week examining exactly why more Americans aren't looking for work.
Here are four reasons, according to the study:
1. Baby boomers are retiring. This generation, born between 1946 and 1964, makes up more than 26% of the population. They're starting to retire, and perhaps in a normal economy you might see more participation from younger workers to take their place. That's not happening, though.
On one hand, some boomers are forced to work longer because their retirement savings dried up in the recent market turmoil. But there are also boomers who were laid off or otherwise lost jobs, and decided to seek early retirement instead of moving into a lower-paying or lower-quality job.
2. Millennials are giving up. This generation, also known as Generation Y, was born between 1977 and 1994, and is having a serious problem finding work. They aren't getting the jobs that have come back in the recovery. As a result, 36% of them still live with their parents, they aren't working and they're feeling pretty miserable about the whole thing. Their parents can't be too thrilled, either.
3. People are stuck in the safety net of government benefits. A striking number of Americans are on disability insurance -- 4.6% of the working population in 2011. And in the last two years, less than 1% of them have returned to work. And states are happy to shift Americans into the disability category because it means the federal government picks up the tab.
4. Workers don't have the right skills. The so-called "skills gap" has been a hot topic lately, particularly since there are millions of job openings going unfilled. In a survey by the American Management Association, company leaders said workers aren't capable of good collaboration, communication and critical thinking.
money.msn.com/now/post--why-arent-more-americans-looking-for-work
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Post by safeharbor37 on Mar 16, 2014 3:03:55 GMT -5
The above pretty much sums up the big picture, but there are other issues: 1. A felony record usually precludes employment with the government (Federal, State and Local) and among the millions who have felony records are about 50% of young black men. I suspect that unemployment approaches 100% for young black felons, most of whom are essentially illiterate. 2. When employment is difficult to find, disability is a temptation and once one gets on disability, it's not likely that it'll be given up to look for work. 3. [this relates to #4 above] If you don't have a decent basic education, it's not likely you'll be able to get "the right skills" which mostly require high intelligence if not a higher education. 4. More and more employers are using the internet to screen for employment. If you have negatives In your resume' you'll be culled and have no opportunity to demonstrate your superior personality, etc. This in not an exhaustive list, but add to that the fact that the latest generations have been coddled and spoiled and you have a recipe for a permanent "consumer class." It is amazing to me that anyone listens when the young complain that "this is the first generation which doesn't expect to do better than the last." What do you think the generation born into the Great Depression and drafted into WWII had to look forward to? We are the generation that thinks that government assisted loans make education more affordable rather than just inflating the cost of college. Do you think the "Affordable Healthcare Act" is actually going to make healthcare more affordable? The real problem is that the American People [at least those who vote] are getting stupider and stupider [yes I know it's "more and more stupid.].
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Post by Forever Sunshine on Mar 16, 2014 8:32:06 GMT -5
The dumbing down of America can be seen from generation to generation.
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biglin
Not so new Crapster
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Post by biglin on Apr 1, 2014 8:57:11 GMT -5
I genuinely don't think it's that straightforward or simplistic.
So much of unemployment nowadays is structural where manufacturing in particular has been slowly eroded owing to the difficulty of competing with cheap Third World markets.
Retail has been hammered by a combination of the big supermarkets and the internet destroying small shops.
Ansd of course there are two other fundamental problems.
One is the low wage rate which makes it hard for people in work to support themselves and their families.
The other is the welfare system which rewards people for not working.
Until employers pay a living wage and benefits stop being a way of life you won't fix the problem.
It's also arguable whether in fact we're not slowly moving away from a work society towards a leisure one where hardly anyone works.
So it's all very well complaining about the lazy shysters - sure, they exist and they make me angry as a taxpayer.
But we also need to plan for the future rather than always running for quick fixes.
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mtman
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Post by mtman on Apr 1, 2014 22:47:53 GMT -5
Minorities have learned from generations before them, how to work the system.....Why work, when barry will write you a check?
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biglin
Not so new Crapster
Posts: 116
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Post by biglin on Apr 2, 2014 15:35:45 GMT -5
Anyone would think Barry had invented welfare or that only minorities were in receipt of it.
For what it's worth Republican states in the US consistently take MORE in welfare and federal handouts than Democrat ones.
Now I despise both main US parties and the Americans haven't had a President who wasn't a total waste of space since Nixon.
But let's be honest - welfare is only part of the problem.
The main problem is structural - the West (NOT just America) can't compete with India or China and consequently it's inevitable that unemployment will rise
It's also arguable whether we need to redefine our whole notions of work.
To far too many people in the West it's still the old-fashioned wage slavery.
We need to be entrepeneurial and imaginative not just following the tired old failed Sisyphistic road.
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Post by Forever Sunshine on Apr 3, 2014 6:37:18 GMT -5
Speaking of wages, personally I think companies/corporations make far too much off the backs of their workers. If corporations were to reduce their products prices instead of price gouging at every turn, perhaps wages would sustain families like they used to .
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biglin
Not so new Crapster
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Post by biglin on Apr 4, 2014 15:07:37 GMT -5
But the problem is that everyone is still thinking in terms of old-fashioned paradigms that just don't work.
In real terms workers are worse off than they were five years ago but they still can't compete with the likes of China and India.
The answer has to be looking at niche markets, looking at making small businesses the backbone of economic activity and to stop looking at the world in terms of thirty or forty years ago.
The world's moved on and most Western unemployment is structural and is NOT going to improve whoever is in power or whatever amount of tinkering around the edges of the economy is done.
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Post by safeharbor37 on Apr 17, 2014 15:25:56 GMT -5
Generally, the high pay goes to those who can do what others can't. Low skill equals low pay. Highly skilled workers are not only well paid, but usually have no trouble finding suitable jobs. The public issue seems to be that low skill people won't or can't obtain higher skills either because they don't want to or can't. Some people lack not only the intellectual ability to cope with the technical age but they and others frequently also lack the physical capability to qualify for what they consider "suitable" employment. Once upon a time it was accepted that some people would always be on the bottom rung and would be relatively "poor." The egalitarian approach that everyone should be "equal", not just have "equal opportunity", makes that condition unacceptable, but they have yet to come up with a method of implementing their Utopian dreams. Those countries which reward the capable and willing, letting the benefits "trickle down" to the less fortunate (or less willing), tend to be wealthier and even their "poor" fare better than in those countries which emphasize "equality." It seems that "freedom" and "equality" are inversely proportional. It is disappointing to me that people in general aren't more grateful to live in countries where it's optional to work due the high productivity of those who do work. Of course quality of life depends to a degree on ones sense of self-worth which, particularly in capitalist cultures, tends to depend on ones capacity to earn a "good living." Sitting at home living of the fat of the land Is simply not acceptable to some, and that's probably a good thing. A problem Is how to accommodate those who wish to contribute, but lack the ability for some reason. How to do that without handcuffing the capitalist system which provides the wealth in the first place (killing the goose that lays the golden eggs) is the biggest problem.
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biglin
Not so new Crapster
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Post by biglin on Apr 17, 2014 15:40:35 GMT -5
Why should lousy low paid jobs be on offer? If people can't afford to pay decent wages they shouldn't be in business.
I speak as someone who runs a small business myself.
And quite honestly I keep coming back to two basic facts that those with a Sisyphist agenda conveniently ignore or downplay.
Western countries can't compete with the low wages in places like China and India.
So much modern unemployment is structural because old industries and similar types of business are no longer needed.
Now I think we need to turn things on their head.
Instead of seeing unemployment as a problem we should see it as an opportunity.
We should be consciously working TOWARDS a society of virtually full UNEMPLOYMENT - as I prefer to call it, a leisure society.
Machines and robots can do most jobs - why waste people's lives when it's not necessary?
We want MORE unemployment and LESS productivity.
Recycle, re-use, be happy with less, live instead of destroying yourself as a robotic wage slave.
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smoface
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Post by smoface on Apr 19, 2014 3:14:00 GMT -5
People have different needs when looking for a job. Salary isn't the only criteria. And every job doesn't have to offer a wage that completely supports an individual. Other and often more important considerations...Flex hours, easy or low stress, convenient location, enjoyable/sociable work, etc.
I'd hate to see the day when people don't need to work.
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biglin
Not so new Crapster
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Post by biglin on Apr 22, 2014 18:27:36 GMT -5
Yes, I agree, Smoface. But overall if you work you've got a reasonable basis to assume that you'll be paid enough to be able to live on.
As for the idea that work is something people ought to be forced to do that's so sisyphistic it's frightening.
Basically for most people (unless you work for yourself like me) work is slavery and exploitation.
Most jobs could be better done by machines or robots.
In a leisure society people find better uses for their time than pointless slavery.
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smoface
Not so new Crapster
Posts: 113
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Post by smoface on Apr 22, 2014 19:32:30 GMT -5
wait. Work isn't slavery... It's kind of like bartering...only instead of trading goods and services for other goods and service, $$ is used as the medium of exchange. So how would an individual or family get stuff they want if there is nothing to exchange? How do you put a value on anything??
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Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2014 10:13:27 GMT -5
some work isn't slavery,perhaps..........
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2014 1:38:07 GMT -5
I'm 62 and quit looking for work and live off my late husband's small survivor's benefit through Social Security. I was looking for work until our Republican House of Representatives decided we long term unemployed didn't need any more help regardless of the fact there are 3 million of us and growing and many have lose their homes and now live in cars.
I looked for work for five months to no avail and when the writing was on the wall that the House wasn't going to help, I dropped out and now have state paide medical/dental insurance and food stamps.
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Post by Forever Sunshine on Jul 1, 2014 7:50:49 GMT -5
(((Chefie))) It's so good to see you! Hope you've been well.
I'm in the same boat as you. Lost my job years ago, used up unemployment, kept looking for work for years but could find a thing. Now, have fallen through the cracks with the rest of the long-term unemployed and have applied for state assistance. Can't get cash assistance because I have no children living in the house; can't get medical assistance because I'm over 44. I do qualify for food stamps but not sure how much.
And the worst part is . . . no one seems to care. Not my president, not my congress, not my state reps nor senators.
Hang in there Chef! You're not alone.
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smoface
Not so new Crapster
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Post by smoface on Jul 1, 2014 7:52:27 GMT -5
I'm sorry to hear that chefmate. How long have you been unemployed?
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mtman
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Post by mtman on Jul 1, 2014 9:18:08 GMT -5
I looked for work for five months Five whole months......Wow
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Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2014 21:30:04 GMT -5
I looked for work for five months Five whole months......Wow I should clarify that statement as it doesn't look good in retrospect. I lost my job in 12/2012 and didn't apply for unemployment until April of 2013 due to the fact I was on disability for cataract surgery so I wasn't available for work. I applied for unemployment in April 2013 and searched faithfully every week for the rest of the year and then after the federal extension benefit was cut in January 2014 I still searched for five months until the House shut down all hope of extra help. I can get by on my social security so I said to heck with work....now I live in a small county of only 21000 so job prospects are nil. It's not that I didn't give it my all; I did but John Boehner has decided we weren't worthy of any help and let three million Americans slide into the cracks
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Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2014 4:33:20 GMT -5
work sucks......................
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