Recession

Unemployment Recession u06a1 Larry Howard L_howard24@yahoo.com BUS3004 Developing a Business Perspective December 20, 2009 The unemployment rate became a hot topic in the past few months when it rose to 3.5 per cent, a recent high for almost 10 years. The jobless rate was higher than the 3.2 per cent unemployment rate recorded in the May to July period. The underemployment rate in the June to August period rose to 2.5 per cent from 2.3 per cent in the May to July period. Until recently, most workers who lost their jobs were from the manufacturing sector. They were middle-aged factory workers with few skills and little education. But in recent months a large number of employees have been laid off in the retail and restaurant businesses. Unemployment has spilled over to the service sector from manufacturing sector. Hong Kong is facing a prolonged economic downturn. The high unemployment rate has raised many social and economic problems. For example, the number of people who commit suicide is increased. It is because more people had lost their jobs for a long time. It is a serious threat to the lives of the poor. The unemployed people may also feel that it is unmeaning to live. As a result, they will commit suicide to solve the problem. Moreover, the high unemployment rate results in the increase of the rate of crime. There was an unemployed man who stole rice because he was too hungry and he did not have money to even buy food! Today more than ever, there is a major and constant fear of an impending recession in our government’s economy. A recession is a downturn in the economy when output and employment are falling for at least a period of six months. Despite all the recession talk recently, the economy apparently isn't doing so badly. The Commerce department today (4.27) announced that GDP grew at a 2.0% annual rate in the first quarter. This was up from 1% in the final quarter of 2000. The 2% rate is still slower than this time last year, but it seems as though a recession has been avoided for another quarter. (A recession is often defined by 2 or more quarters of negative growth, if I was the economic czar of the United States and I could decide exactly what the U. S. economic growth package should be this is what I would do. As of right now I do not think that the United States needs a stimulus package. At the current moment the U.S. is coming out of a recession cased by September 11th. Right now I think that given we are pulling out of the recession a stimulus package is not necessary. The U.S. is predicting a deficit, which will cause the government to cut the budget, and increase spending in others, which will hopefully increase growth. Over 1 million people have lost there jobs in the last year and the U.S. needs to decrease the unemployment rate. One way of doing this is to encourage Big business to invest which will in turn create jobs. The long run is the most important thing for the U.S. right now. Coming out of the recession we have the opportunity to plan ahead and hopefully create a solid economic base for the future. To ensure long run growth I think the government needs to make permanent tax cuts to ensure long term growth. The U. S. deficit will continue until 2005, at that time I think that the U.S. needs to increase spending and still encourage big business investing. The main problem in recession is unemployment. Unemployment has been a problem throughout the United States since the beginning of our economic structure. In the most obvious sense, unemployment means "being without a job." The term unemployment is one description of the economic condition of a society at any given time. Low unemployment means the majority of the labor force is involved in or looking for steady work. On the other hand, high unemployment is an indication of an economy in recession, or even worse. This implies that a sizable percentage of the labor force is not currently working. Until they actually start working again, they will be counted in government data as "unemployed" In industrialized countries in which most people can earn a living only by working for others, being unable to find a job is a serious problem. Because of its human costs in deprivation and a feeling of rejection and personal failure, the extent of unemployment is widely used as a measure of workers' welfare. The proportion of workers unemployed also shows how well a nation's human resources are used and serves as an index of economic activity. Economists have described the types of unemployment as frictional, structural, and cyclical.      The first form of unemployment is Frictional unemployment. Frictional unemployment arises because workers seeking jobs do not find them immediately. While looking for work they are counted as unemployed. The amount of frictional unemployment depends on the frequency with which workers change jobs and the time it takes to find new ones. Job changes occur often in the United States. A January 1983 survey showed that more than 25 percent of all workers had been with their current employers one year or less. About a quarter of those unemployed at any particular time are employed one month later. This means that a considerable degree of unemployment in the United States is frictional and lasts only a short time. This type of unemployment could be reduced somewhat by more efficient placement services. When workers are free to quit their jobs, some frictional unemployment will always be present.      The second form of Unemployment is structural unemployment. Structural unemployment arises from an imbalance between the kinds of workers wanted by employers and the kinds of workers looking for jobs. The imbalances may be caused by inadequacy in skills, location, or personal characteristics. Technological developments necessitate new skills in many industries, leaving those workers who have outdated skills without a job. A plant in a declining industry may close down or move to another area, throwing out of work those employees who are unable or unwilling to move. Workers with inadequate education or training and young workers with little or no experience may be unable to get jobs because employers believe that these employees would not produce enough to be worth paying the legal minimum wage or the rate agreed on with the union. On the other hand, even highly trained workers can be unemployed. This happened in the United States in the early 1970s, when the large numbers of new graduates with doctoral degrees in physics and mathematics exceeded the number of jobs available in those fields. If employers practice illegal job discrimination against any group because of sex, race, religion, age, or national origin, a high unemployment rate for these workers could result even when jobs are plentiful. Structural unemployment shows up most prominently in some cities, in some occupations or industries, for those with below average educational attainments, and for some other groups in the labor force. The third form of unemployment is cyclical unemployment. In conclusion employment in the U.S has declined tremendously over the past year. Many are without jobs and money basically a worldwide recession. These cutworms have harmed the Americans everywhere. As a citizen I feel as though this will be an ongoing battle for years to come. My question is “Do you think this recession crisis with stay the same or will it increase'” We the people need to prepare for the worst because I think it will become more drastic than it already is. Works Cited 1. Recession' Where to put your mo^ "Recession". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recession. Retrieved 19 November 2008.  2. "Recession definition". Encarta World English Dictionary [North American Edition]. Microsoft Corporation. 2007. http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/DictionaryResults.aspx'refid=1861699686. Retrieved 19 November 2008.  3. "Recession definition". BusinessDictionary.com. 2007–2008. http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/recession.html. Retrieved 19 November 2008.