The problem of unemployment has become a serious social issue in the United States. Unemployment simply means the lack of a job or joblessness. There are so many people in the United States without jobs, as many youths are actively searching for some employment. The youths are the most affected who find themselves without jobs after finishing their studies. Despite the US being a superpower, the nation still faces unemployment issues. According to the list from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rates in the United States have increased at a startling rate (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). According to them, about 7.3 percent of the US population in unemployed, meaning about 11.3 million American citizens are jobless (US Bureau of Labor Statistics). As a result, the high unemployment rate has affected the American economy adversely.
Unemployment rates in the United States have increased over the years despite the fact that, it is one of the developed countries globally. The US is known to be among the nations with a stable economy, yet many youths are still being faced with the problem of joblessness. According to Reifschneider, William, and David, America has a significant unemployment rates among its citizens (101). There are many reasons, which have led to the increase in unemployment rates in the United States. For instance, the decline of the economy,
The recent economic crisis faced by the US has led to the decline of the economy thus leading to increased rates of unemployment. The declining economic growth is one of the causes of high unemployment rates in the United States. Due to the decline of the economy, there are few job openings available. The US’s economy has gripped over the years thus affecting the real growth of the nation. For instance, in the time of George Bush, the US experienced the worst economic decline. Even though President Obama has tried his best to turn around this nightmare, nothing much has been achieved. Only about 36,000 jobs were created by the year 2012, which was far below the projections by the economist, which was 150,000 employment opportunities to help curb unemployment.
The increasing trend of the US government laying off its workers is also another reason for the high unemployment rates in the nation. The local and central government have chosen to lay off their workers lately. Due to the tough economic times and financial crisis, the government institutions have laid off their workers instead of finding an appropriate solution to solve the financial crisis the country is facing. As a result, the private organizations have emulated the same thus leaving many citizens jobless due to the fear of harsh economic times in the future. Therefore, many US citizens have stopped searching for employment with the notion that, there are no jobs thus increasing the joblessness rates in the country.
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US faced financial crisis thus declining job openings to below 3 million from 4 million (Bureau of Labor Statistics). Meaning, many youths after their graduation could not find any jobs available thus increasing the rates of unemployment in the United States. Nonetheless, the government is struggling to implement the best policies to boost the economy to create employment opportunities in the United States. With the introduction of the economic stimulus package by President Barack Obama, the unemployment rates have been reduced at some point (Factcheck.org).
Another cause of an increase in unemployment rates in the United States is that many people make a decision to remain jobless because of the minimum wage. The US minimum wage is at the rate of $6.55 per hour, which is considered far below what they can earn overseas. Therefore, as a result, many of them remain jobless because they do not want to make a little money that cannot sustain them and their families in the US. Therefore, because of this decision, many American are unemployed thus increasing the jobless rates in the nation.
Unemployment rates are on the rise in the United States because the lack of technological skills of the workers. Many workers in the US are becoming jobless because of the lack of the needed skills for the current jobs. With the American economy recovery, there are several technological advances thus leaving many citizens unemployed due to lack of the required skills to work. Many factory workers have lost their jobs due to new technology thus increasing the number of unemployed citizens. Once a technology is introduced in their companies, they are left with no job to do since everything is computerized or use other techniques, yet they have absolute no knowledge about them. Therefore, with the introduction of new technology, many tasks become automated thus making some posts in companies obsolete.
Apart from new technological advances, the increase in population is also among the reasons why unemployment rates have increased in the US. Overpopulation has increased the number of jobless people in America over the past years (Harvey 102). There are many people, yet a few job openings, which leaves many unemployed. Many youths are graduating every year in the United States, and it has become tough for them to find jobs because of overcrowding.
The high rates of joblessness in the United States has had adverse impacts on both the economy, the global competition, and the people of America. First, unemployment has led to a slow rate of economic development. When many citizens are jobless, then there is no economic growth (Harvey 98). In addition, the government is unable to raise the desired revenues, which is a blow to the economy. Secondly, increased unemployment rates have led to a rise in criminal activities, for instance, crimes, and drug abuse. When people are idle with no jobs, they are psychologically affected, and this makes them find solace in drugs and other criminal activities. Lastly, it has led to a weak global competition between America and other developed countries. Due to increased unemployment rates, America faces a very high competition with the developed nations (Gohmann and Fernandez 230).
However, the Obama administration has worked hard to decrease the rates of Unemployment in the United States. According to Jackson, this has been done by improving the economy and creating more job opportunities compared to President Bush’s reign (factcheck.org). Since Obama took over, the unemployment rates have declined by adding more jobs. President Obama has seen a drop in unemployment rates in all states in the US by recording a rate of 5 percent, which is a lower rate compared to the past 7 years (Factcheck.org). Nonetheless, despite the small decline, the unemployment rates persist in America.
In conclusion, it is apparent that the issue of unemployment has become a main social problem in the United States. Many citizens in the US remain unemployed due to many reasons, for instance, instability in the economy, the effects of the minimum wage, overpopulation, and few job openings. The Obama administration has tried decreasing unemployment and increasing job opportunities but the problem persists. Hence, the US citizens still suffer from unemployment. Therefore, with better policies and stringent measures to curb the issue, the government can help reduce unemployment rates in the US.
Works Cited
US Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey; Unemployment Rate, Seasonally Adjusted.” Data extracted 9 Jan 2015. Web. 6 Jan. 2016.
Jackson, Brooks. Obama’s Numbers (January 2015 Update: More jobs, Higher Paychecks, Failing Fuel Prices: Our Latest Scorecard. FACTCHECK.ORG. 9 Jan. 2015. Web. 6 Jan. 2016.
http://www.factcheck.org/2015/01/obamas-numbers-january-2015-update/
Harvey, Philip. Securing the right to employment: Social welfare policy and the unemployed in the United States. Princeton University Press, 2014. Print.
Gohmann, Stephan F., and Fernandez, Jose M. "Proprietorship and unemployment in the United States." Journal of Business Venturing 29.2 (2014): 289-309. Print.
Reifschneider, Dave, William Wascher, and David Wilcox. "Aggregate supply in the United States: recent developments and implications for the conduct of monetary policy." IMF Economic Review 63.1 (2015): 71-109. Print.
