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I've seen so much ranting about not being able to find a job. There are millions of reasons quoted for not being able to get hired anywhere, and there seems to be a new reason everyday. Sometimes it sounds like everyone deserves to be employed for reasons X or Y. Yet, as of January the unemployment rate was only 6.6%. Among those with higher education, 3.2% are jobless.
So what separates the 93.4% from the 6.6% and what separates the 96.8% from the 3.2%? What is the majority of the population doing right that the rest of the population is not doing?
I've seen so much ranting about not being able to find a job. There are millions of reasons quoted for not being able to get hired anywhere, and there seems to be a new reason everyday. Sometimes it sounds like everyone deserves to be employed for reasons X or Y. Yet, as of January the unemployment rate was only 6.6%. Among those with higher education, 3.2% are jobless.
So what separates the 93.4% from the 6.6% and what separates the 96.8% from the 3.2%? What is the majority of the population doing right that the rest of the population is not doing?
First off, you need to get rid of the idea that the unemployment rate is only 6.6%. That only takes into account people collecting benefits. Many have fallen past that threshold, or have given up entirely. Don't eat up everything the liberal media feeds you.
You also need to look at the underemployment rate as well. If you have a Masters degree and you're pouring latte's at Starbucks, you fall into that category. But hey, it's a job, right? It shows willingness to work and staves off the oh-so-feared-gap-in-employment history...........
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,957,550 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AmFest
I've seen so much ranting about not being able to find a job. There are millions of reasons quoted for not being able to get hired anywhere, and there seems to be a new reason everyday. Sometimes it sounds like everyone deserves to be employed for reasons X or Y. Yet, as of January the unemployment rate was only 6.6%. Among those with higher education, 3.2% are jobless.
So what separates the 93.4% from the 6.6% and what separates the 96.8% from the 3.2%? What is the majority of the population doing right that the rest of the population is not doing?
93.4% aren't employed
but what separates the employed from the unemployed?
I think real questions can be raised about the legitimacy of a social order where that many able adults can't provide for themselves. Quite a few, I know, just have no desire to support themselves at all, but doesn't that just reinforce the fact that something has gone seriously wrong with our world?
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
41,936 posts, read 36,957,550 times
Reputation: 40635
Quote:
Originally Posted by ditchlights
First off, you need to get rid of the idea that the unemployment rate is only 6.6%. That only takes into account people collecting benefits. Many have fallen past that threshold, or have given up entirely. Don't eat up everything the liberal media feeds you.
Again, this myth... whether you collect unemployment benefits or not has zero impact on the federal unemployment rate. It is NOT a component of the calculation. How the federal unemployment rate is calculated is public information for all to see.
I've seen so much ranting about not being able to find a job. There are millions of reasons quoted for not being able to get hired anywhere, and there seems to be a new reason everyday. Sometimes it sounds like everyone deserves to be employed for reasons X or Y. Yet, as of January the unemployment rate was only 6.6%. Among those with higher education, 3.2% are jobless.
So what separates the 93.4% from the 6.6% and what separates the 96.8% from the 3.2%? What is the majority of the population doing right that the rest of the population is not doing?
I find this almost impossible to believe when companies are getting 50-100 applicants per job.
If the unemployment rate among those with bachelors was 3%, then companies in every industry would be having trouble finding workers, and that is CLEARLY far from the case in just about every industry as we can see from this forum.
As far as an answer to the general question of what separates the employed from the unemployed, whatever the percentages may be, I can think of a number of factors...
1) Restless job hopping is asking for unemployment benefits. Those I know who have never been unemployed had the foresight to stick with a good company even though things might have been kind of dull. Good companies will keep you employed when times get lean.
2) Obviously your field matters. My friends in finance have it tough. My friends who work for nonprofit types have it really rough. Engineering is so-so. Healthcare is good.
3) Definitely NOT education.
4) People who are portable. On a recent project I was working a few years ago, over half of the employees got laid off. Yes, over half. Those who were willing to relocate were able to find jobs.
5) Entry to mid-level workers. The 2-5 year crowd is very, very employable. The salary is manageable and you don't have to train from the bottom.
6) Straight path people. Those who have only done one thing their whole life and have few gaps and and little job hopping. Those are the people companies want.
Again, this myth... whether you collect unemployment benefits or not has zero impact on the federal unemployment rate. It is NOT a component of the calculation. How the federal unemployment rate is calculated is public information for all to see.
True. At the same time though, as I understand it, you can work 20 hours in an entire month and still be classified as "employed".
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