Running head: UNEMPLOYMENT

Unemployment 7897441758
Strayer University
Economic Problems and Issues 405
Dr. Hong-Jim Kim
June 7, 2009

Abstract
This paper will provide you with an overview of the unemployment situation that faces our society today. How unemployment impact the family life, working class, whites, blacks, Hispanic, and other races. That doing such difficult times all areas of the job sector faces some degree of uncertainty, and this is felt by all. Doing these times we witness an increase in the number of workers out of work and the high number of job claims, which has a negative effect on our economy. What we can do to turn around our economy? Through education, health care, and coming together as a society. And what our government role should be in all of this. These factors will be looked at throughout this paper.

Unemployment
Skyrocketing job losses and rising unemployment remains the focus of not only America but around the world. During a time when there are stores out of work, losing their homes, and wondering how they will get their next meal or where to lay their head for the night. There is a consensus among economists that an affordable housing market along with effortless lending practices created our current unemployment and there seems to be no end in sight. With daily unemployment data released, providing figures across all ethnic groups. The impact is being felt in the African American community greater than any other ethnic groups. Black unemployment rate currently ranging in the neighborhood of 12 percent that is nearly double of white unemployment rate and Hispanics. The question become why? Many would contribute this to a lack of education with such a high intercity dropout rate, how can African Americans be expected to compete.
As the unemployment rate increases daily and congress passing bailouts to bailout the banking, auto industry, and insurance companies. How can the average American expect to keep their heads up and look for the light at the end of the tunnel? And now you have gas prices soaring again; how can a society that depends on its personal transportation more than public transportation endure.
Black Unemployment
Employment for blacks continues to be out paced by unemployment rates for blacks. Over the course of the last 3 months unemployment in this minority groups has averaged (Mar 2009, 13.3, April 2009, 15.0, and May 2009, 14.9), for an average rate of 14.4 percent unemployment. Now, the questions become why unemployment is so high for this group? Could it be no jobs are available or not wanting to work. There are many factors that causes unemployment, but it has been found that poor intercity graduation rates and few black males with post education after high school is one of many reasons. (Malveaux, 2004) every month, when unemployment rate data are released, the news for African Americans is bleak. No matter what the overall unemployment rate is (5.6 percent in June), the Black unemployment rate is higher. Indeed, it is usually at least twice the white rate. In June unemployment rate was 10.1 percent.
(Malveaux, 2004) face it the data is bleak enough, with a 2:1 ratio that has been steady in good and bad times. However, a recent study from by Community Service Society (CSC) of New York suggests we look at more compelling statistic for a real picture on Black unemployment. Relevant statistics show “employment population ratio,” figure that measures what percentage of the total population in certain age groups are employed. The CSC measured the employment population ratio in New York City in 2003, finding that only 51.8 percent of African American men 16 to 65 held jobs. Nearly half of all African American men did not work or have a job. Compared to, 75.7 percent of White men in New York held jobs, meaning less than one in four of them did not hold jobs.
Malveaux, 2004) this brings us back to the question of why such high employment for blacks? Some are in school, others are ill, and you have some that have taken early retirement. But the gap between Black men without work and White men without work is astounding. If the tables were turn and you had White men without jobs would there be more alarm for action? Could you imagine how people would respond and what would happen? Would there be a National call for action? Refocusing of national priorities? What about massive jobs creation? If all this would occur in response to high joblessness for Whites; why not the same degree for Black joblessness?
Some would say that it is the good old boy network taken care of their own, but is there not a network amongst Blacks? Before you had such acts as affirmative action there was the civil rights moment. Did they not fight for equal rights for all Blacks, while providing employment in their own communities?
(Johnson, 2008) “it’s tough for young Black men” without and education to get a job with benefits, when they think nothing is out there. With no viable job skills and most being high school dropouts. (Johnson, 2008) but James Price is frustrated, too. He’s got a college degree and the skills to go along with it. He’s mostly worked in the media and ran his own business for a decade before his cash flow ran dry. (Johnson, 2008) as the old saying goes, when white American catches a cold, Black American catches pneumonia. I guess the entire world has pneumonia.
Hispanic unemployment
With job loss at record time high and all sectors being hit, Hispanic unemployment is not without exception; unemployment for this minority group is at 11.4 percent. While they are the second highest, they are 3.5 percent less than blacks and 2.8 percent higher than Whites. The question is why are they not affected at the same rate as Blacks? Could it be that they pull together better in tough times?
(Rey de Perea, 2008) “employment status of the Hispanic or Latino population by sex and age”. 153,000 Hispanics are feeling the economy’s labor pains. This constitutes about 35 percent of the overall increase in the level of unemployed U.S. workers. (Rey de Perea, 2008) points out that this is an increase of 434,000 since March 2008. The overall U.S. unemployment rate increased 0.3 percentage points on the month to 5.1 percent, and Hispanic overall unemployment rate increased 0.7 percentage points during the same period, reaching 6.9 percent.
(Rey de Perea, 2008) the largest hit was taken by Hispanic men, losing 95,000 jobs, while women endured a loss of 22,000 in March. Unemployment for Hispanic male increased to 7.2 percent from 6.5 percent in February, while Hispanic females, increased their unemployment rate by a smaller percentage to reach 6.1 percent in March. And the overall male unemployment rose to 0.3 percentage point to reach 4.6 percent, while overall women rose 4.2 percent to 4.6 percent.
(Rey de Perea, 2008) however, Hispanic teenagers (16-19) managed to decrease their unemployment rate to 17.8, while U.S. unemployment rate overall for teenagers decreased to 15.8 percent. Decreasing the number of unemployed U.S. teens by 60,000 in the month of March with Hispanic teenagers causing 16.67 percent of that decrease.
What indicator can we take from our Hispanic brothers and sisters; at least in the teen and women category? They seem to be doing something right to have numbers that have decrease not only across their sector but the U.S. as well.
Impact on a Society
When did all this start? Some would say after the events of September 11, 2001, others would say at the start of former President Bush election of 2000. No matter when it started we are in for a tailspin of a recovery. Fear and anxiety by all Americans has produced less spending and consumer confidence in the market. As a result, industries in many parts of the sectors felt the crush of uncertainty and saw their profit margin begin to decrease. Was this do to government spending on homeland security and military increase – to protect American? Or, what about the demand for better health care and better education of our children? These and other factors are all contributors to our economy state.
And on top of all this you have the government passing economic stimulus packages to bailout corporate Wall Street, but nothing for the little man, except to pay the taxes needed for theses massive bailouts.
(Allen, 2009) points to reports that show, there is no such thing as the “job for life”. With over two million people unemployed, the noble idea of job security is as extinct as the dinosaurs.
As a society we can point fingers at who to blame for our current unstable economy, this will not get us back on the track of success unless we all come together in this fight. And for those that are unaffected, think how you would feel if you were to walk in the shoes of thousands that are without a home or job, and continue to wonder how they will provide for their family.
(Allen, 2009) logically, when people are unemployed, their ability to manage the necessities in life (i.e. shelter, food, transportation, health care, and other debts) are immediately jeopardized. This in turn leads to a “trickle down” effect involving less spending on non essentials and increased reliance on governmental aid and, an adverse effect on supply meeting demand.
Most do not understand that unemployment not only effect one economically but psychological. Not being able to provide for one’s family places a great deal of burden on the family, causing the structure to rupture. (Allen, 2009) families too have been directly effected. Increased anxiety and stress from the loss of employment, has often aggravated existing problems or, brought much fear and uncertainty in a once stable home. And since children feed off the emotions of their parents, it stands to reason that there will be an increase of stressed out kids.
Therefore, unemployment impact society in many ways and everyone will deal with it in their own way, how will you?

Layoffs
Day after day many awake to no job to go to, or go to work to find that their job has closed their doors. For some they are faced with not trying to find work but how they will keep their current job. (MSNBC, 2009) the pace of layoffs slowed in April when U.S. employers cut 539,000 jobs, the fewest in six months. And still unemployment climbed to 8.9 percent, highest since 1983, as businesses remain wary of hiring given all the economic uncertainties.
Each day the news or The Labor Department release figures that seem to show no end in sight for workers. Job claims at an all time high and government assistance need by many that would have never given a second thought to been placed in such hard times. (MSNBC, 2009) The Labor Department tally released Friday wasn’t nearly as deep as the 620,000 job cuts that economists were expecting, and was helped by a burst of federal government hiring of temporary workers to prepare for the 2010 Census. The rise in the unemployment rate from 8.5 percent in March matched economists’ forecasts.
Americans are left to wonder when will this massive recession end, that has hit almost every sector of Americans and just days ago you had GM file for bankruptcy. The effect will be more job losses to an already weaken economy – there is not much left to take. How can Americans prevent such a down slide in the future? – invest in the future of Americans; better health care, education, wages and retirement.
Working Class
In today’s tough economy times, does such a family exist? There are single mothers, single farther, and dual headed household that find themselves face with the difficulty of finding work to keep food on the table and a roof over their family head. During economy growth these families would not have such a challenge; they would be faced with fallen unemployment caused by a growing economy, but when in a recession one finds themselves face with raising unemployment and out of work.
(Sherman, Fremstad, and Parrott, 2004) despite recent unemployment rate, the employment among single mothers remains considerably higher than it was in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2000, single mother’s employment increased. Booming economy and assistance for working families, and a variety of social programs; however, one-fourth of these employment gains were lost between 2000 and 2003.
Single families are faced with challenges that other are not, from being the sole provider of the family to having to find child care. Sherman, Fremstad, and Parrott, 2004) reports that black single mothers had the steepest employment losses from 2000 to 2003, their employment rate fell by 4.0 percentage points from 200 to 2003. This was one-fourth of their gain between 1995 and 2000.
Sherman, Fremstad, and Parrott, 2004) the trend among single mothers overall had seen a rise by 11.3 percentage points in those employed from 1995 to 2000, but than a decline of 3.2 points by 2003 more than one-fourth of the increase. Those never-married, the percent rose by 17.1 percentage points from 1995 to 2000, but declined 3.5 points in 2003, one-fifth of or the prior increase.
There has been considerable attention given to the job losses among better-educated and better paid workers, but what about the single family sector, are we to leave them to fight for themselves. We must pay as much attention to them as anyone else. If not we will find that government assistance will have to increase to take care of them and their families. We must teach them to fish for themselves. Through better education and training we can complete this.
Employment Summary
Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted
(Numbers in thousands)
_______________________________________________________________________________
| | | | Quarterly | | | averages | Monthly data | Apr.- Category |_________________|__________________________| May | | | | | | change | IV | I | Mar. | Apr. | May | | 2008 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 | 2009 |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________
| HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status |_____________________________________________________ | | | | | |
Civilian labor force ....| 154,648| 153,993| 154,048| 154,731| 155,081| 350 Employment ............| 144,046| 141,578| 140,887| 141,007| 140,570| -437 Unemployment ..........| 10,602| 12,415| 13,161| 13,724| 14,511| 787
Not in labor force ......| 80,177| 80,920| 81,038| 80,541| 80,371| -170 |________|________|________|________|________|________ | | Unemployment rates |_____________________________________________________ | | | | | |
All workers .............| 6.9| 8.1| 8.5| 8.9| 9.4| 0.5 Adult men .............| 6.8| 8.2| 8.8| 9.4| 9.8| .4 Adult women ...........| 5.6| 6.7| 7.0| 7.1| 7.5| .4 Teenagers .............| 20.7| 21.3| 21.7| 21.5| 22.7| 1.2 White .................| 6.3| 7.4| 7.9| 8.0| 8.6| .6 Black or African | | | | | | American ............| 11.5| 13.1| 13.3| 15.0| 14.9| -.1 Hispanic or Latino | | | | | | ethnicity ...........| 8.9| 10.7| 11.4| 11.3| 12.7| 1.4 |________|________|________|________|________|________ | ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment |_____________________________________________________ | | | | | |
Nonfarm employment.......| 135,727| 133,662| 133,000|p132,496|p132,151| p-345 Goods-producing (1)....| 20,803| 19,826| 19,520| p19,246| p19,021| p-225 Construction ........| 6,949| 6,590| 6,470| p6,362| p6,303| p-59 Manufacturing .......| 13,062| 12,468| 12,296| p12,142| p11,986| p-156 Service-providing (1)..| 114,924| 113,835| 113,480|p113,250|p113,130| p-120 Retail trade (2)...| 15,127| 14,933| 14,872| p14,836| p14,818| p-18 Professional and | | | | | | business services .| 17,485| 17,048| 16,910| p16,799| p16,748| p-51 Education and health | | | | | | services ..........| 19,035| 19,138| 19,158| p19,171| p19,215| p44 Leisure and | | | | | | hospitality .......| 13,348| 13,235| 13,202| p13,164| p13,167| p3 Government ..........| 22,538| 22,543| 22,543| p22,635| p22,628| p-7 |________|________|________|________|________|________ | | Hours of work (3) |_____________________________________________________ | | | | | |
Total private ...........| 33.4| 33.2| 33.1| p33.2| p33.1| p-0.1 Manufacturing .........| 40.2| 39.6| 39.4| p39.5| p39.3| p-.2 Overtime ............| 3.2| 2.7| 2.6| p2.7| p2.7| p.0 |________|________|________|________|________|________ | | Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100)(3) |_____________________________________________________ | | | | | |
Total private ...........| 104.1| 101.7| 100.7| p100.4| p99.7| p-0.7 |________|________|________|________|________|________ | | Earnings (3) |_____________________________________________________
Average hourly earnings, | | | | | | total private .........| $18.34| $18.46| $18.50| p$18.52| p$18.54| p$0.02
Average weekly earnings, | | | | | | total private .........| 612.55| 613.60| 612.35| p614.86| p613.67| p-1.19
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|________

1 Includes other industries, not shown separately. 2 Quarterly averages and the over-the-month change are calculated using unrounded data. 3 Data relate to private production and nonsupervisory workers. p = preliminary.

References
Malveaux, Julianne “The real deal on Black unemployment.” BNET August 12, 2004 http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_13_21/ai_n6169071 Rey de Perea, Frankie “Hispanic Unemployment Increases to 6.9%--153,000 More Hispanic Unemployed in March.” Hispanic Business.Com April 4, 2008 http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/2008/4/4/hispanic_unemployment_increases_to_69153000_more.htm Allen, Virgina L. “The impact of unemployment on our society.” Helium, Inc, copyright 2002-2009 http://www.helium.com/items/1321202-how-unemployment-effects-the-economy Layoffs ease by more than expected in April. (2009, May 08). MSNBC.com The Associated Press. Retrieved May 08, 2009, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30638290

Sherman, Arloc, Fremstad, Shawn, and Parrott, Sharon “Employment Rates for Single Mothers Fell Substantially During Recent Period of Labor Market Weakness” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities June 22, 2004
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=1986