Introduction
Unemployment occurs when an employable person actively seeks for a job but cannot find one. Unemployment is associated with undesirable effects such as poor living standards, low aggregate demand and economic growth, high rates of crime, among other evils. The federal and state governments offer unemployment benefits to alleviate the sufferings of the unemployed by improving their living standards. While unemployment benefits help in enhancing the living standards of the unemployed, the cause or type of unemployment should be established for the program to achieve its desired objectives.
One of the types of unemployment is cyclical unemployment. It occurs as a result of the contraction of the economy or a particular sector of the economy (Baumol and Blinder 498). A contraction of the economy causes a fall in aggregate demand hence, firms are forced to cut back on production and lay off some workers. Marcelle’s unemployment is cyclical unemployment since it resulted from the contraction of the automobile industry. It also resulted from the contraction of the entire economy that in turn caused a decline in household incomes. After losing her job, frictional unemployment also arises. Frictional unemployment occurs because of the time taken to transit from one job to another (Baumol and Blinder 498). After losing a job, it takes some time to find a new job. Causes of frictional unemployment include lack of adequate information on available job opportunities, among other causes. Marcelle had been looking for a new job but is yet to find. She qualifies for unemployment benefits because she had been employed previously and earned a certain amount of wages (United States Department of Labor). Besides, her previous employment implies that she has the legal right and can work in the United States. Furthermore, she has been actively looking for a new job.
In the case of Dominic, both voluntary and frictional unemployment comes to play. He has voluntarily quit his job because he wants to relocate to New York City. It will take him time to find a new job in New York City hence his unemployment can be described as frictional unemployment. He could have avoided the unemployment by first looking for and securing a new job before quitting the job in Cincinnati. He does not qualify for unemployment compensation. Most states do not offer unemployment compensation to employees who leave their jobs unless there is a ‘good cause.’ Some of the considerations made in determining whether there is a good cause include if the employee’s life or health was endangered, deplorable working conditions, spouse relocating to another state, among other factors (United States Department of Labor). In this case, just relocating to New York City would not constitute a good cause since there is no evidence of the above conditions.
Francine’s unemployment is also a case of cyclical unemployment. The ski resort, just like other businesses experience business cycles. The resort is closed during the summer since there is no demand during summer. Francine has, however, decided not to look for a new job and prefers waiting until the resort reopens in winter. She is not eligible for unemployment compensation. Eligibility rules require that a person be ready and willing to work and be actively in search for a new job. Francine is not looking for a job hence she does not meet the eligibility requirements.
Another type of unemployment is the structural unemployment. It occurs when there is a mismatch between employee skills and the skills required to perform particular tasks (Mankiw 194). When there is a technological change that forces firms to change their production methods and machines, employees without the necessary skills have to undergo training or face the sack. The employees may remain unemployed for the period they are undertaking training to acquire the skills. Beauvoir unemployment is a case of structural employment. Beauvoir lost the secretary job because the company upgraded to using computers and she does not have the necessary computer skills. However, Beauvoir is eligible for unemployment compensation. Firstly, she had been in employment before and earned a particular amount of wages before she lost the job. Besides, she is actively looking for a new job although the lack of computer skills has made it difficult for her to find a new job. This indicates that she is willing to work hence qualifies for unemployment compensation.
An employee whose contract has been terminated is eligible for unemployment compensation unless the employee was engaged in a misconduct that makes the employee unfit for employment. A misconduct may include dishonesty, sexual harassment, sleeping on the job, among other acts (United States Department of Labor). However, errors made in good faith, as well as the lack of skills, do not constitute a misconduct. Thus, the fact that Beauvoir was dismissed for lacking computer skills does not disqualify her from accessing unemployment compensation.
Conclusion
As shown in the above analysis, a person’s eligibility for unemployment compensation depends on the cause of his/her unemployment, willingness to work and whether or not the person is actively looking for a job. These, among other conditions, are put in place to ensure that those who are in voluntary unemployment, as well as lazy persons, are not eligible. Unemployment compensation is not a permanent source of livelihood.
Works cited
Baumol, William J, and Alan S Blinder. Economics, Principles, And Policy. 11th ed. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 2008. Print.
Mankiw, N. Gregory. Brief Principles Of Macroeconomics. New York: South-Western, 2014. Print.
United States Department of Labor,. "State Unemployment Insurance Benefits". N.p., 2015. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.
