Running Head: Unemployment

Keri N. Deck
Unemployment
ECON 201
Before getting into details on the history and the statistic of unemployment around the
world, we must look at the definition of what unemployment is. Unemployment occurs when a
person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work (Investopedia.com).
Some people see unemployment as people who simply do not have a job. But people who are in
college, stay at home parents, in the military, or even retired are not considered unemployed
because they are not seeking any work at that time. Unemployment has moved up and down for
over a hundred years. But one must first look at the causes of unemployment.
Unemployment can be caused from an advancement in technology. If companies build up
their technology that can save them time and money, then they do not need to pay workers to do
these jobs. Take a look at Walmart Supercenter, they have added thousands of self-checkouts in
their stores. Walmart has put mom and pop shops out of business (Kel Kelly, 238), this is very
true. There are no longer small shops in the towns, I know that in my small town of Greensburg
the Main Street Market has even went out of business. Walmarts philosophy requires cutting
labor costs to bare minimum, so it makes sense that the company would not only pay workers

Running Head: Unemployment

miserable wages, but also shred as many jobs as possible (Kathleen Geier, 1). Companys in
this day and age are looking to get more bang for their buck. By doing that they are laying off as
many workers as they can.
For the economy to stay in a somewhat balanced state unemployment must stay around
5.0%. As long as there are very rich wealthy people and millionaires, you must also have poor
people of all kinds because if you have no poor people, what do you need rich ones for? (Sholem
Aleichem, 134). This is very true, so long as the world has rich people there will always be
poor people. In a way that is how is stays balanced. Even in the Bible God says There will
always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your
fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land (Deuteronomy 15:11).
Unemployment is not just defined in one standard. There are two types of
unemployment: frictional unemployment and structural unemployment. Frictional
unemployment is the unemployment which exists in any economy due to people in the process of
moving from one job to another. An example of this would be a college student who just
graduated, they are then available for the job market. An example of structural unemployment is
a form of unemployment where at a given wage, the quantity of labor supplied exceeds the
quantity of labor demanded. An example of this would be a national disaster such as a tornado or
hurricane happen destroying company, which would lead in a long term of building back the

Running Head: Unemployment

economy and the employment. Structural unemployment has a larger amount of effect on the
economy and its people.
According to the United States Department of Labor they have calculated the
unemployment rate for each month of each year starting with 1948. There calculations are based
upon people 16 and older. In 1950 the unemployment rate was stated at 6.5 percent in the month
of January. Ten years pass and there seems to be a drop in unemployment. In 1960 the
unemployment rate was 5.2 percent, still a decent number. Again ten years later the
unemployment rate stays around the same rate. Fast-forward all the way to 1983 we see that the
unemployment rate is at 10.4. Why such a large percentage? When we look back in history this
is the end of the time of The United States Recession. People had lost jobs and this was a
rebuilding moment for everyone involved. After their rebuilding period it took six years before
the unemployment rate would be seen under 6.0 percent. Between the years 1989 and 2008 the
unemployment rate stayed between 4.0 and 6.0 percent. In 2010 the unemployment rate jumped
up to 9.8 percent. Again looking back in history at this time the economy was failing. The U.S.
housing market was the domino that, when it fell toppled many of the worlds major economies
and led the world into recession ( Joel Havemann, 1-2 ). From there the whole World followed,
from there the second largest recession happened.

Running Head: Unemployment

People might think, if a recession has happened once already why didnt society learn
from their mistakes? Many things make up the causes of a recession such as import and export of
goods or wars that are happening throughout the world. Someone could say that a recession is
caused by the perfect storm. There were a few things that could have avoided the recession, but
no one could predict the future.
Unemployment can be seen in many forms. Some people think that the improvement of
technology has caused a great numbers of unemployment. My concern is that without serious
discourse and explicit policy changes, the current path will lead to an ever more polarized
economic world, with robotic technologies replacing the middle class and further distancing our
society from authentic opportunity and economic justice( Illah Nourbakhsh, 3 ). Even though
technology is helping companies save time and money, it is causing a huge concern for the
middle class workers. What will happen to people that cannot afford an education and also
cannot find a job because of their lack of education? This seems like a losing situation. I can see
this being a big problem down the road for the economy. Simple machines have become a large
disadvantage for the middle and lower class people around the whole world.
Again, as long as there are rich people in the word there will always be poor people and
there will always be unemployment. The unemployment rate has shifted up and down
throughout the years. The knowledge of what unemployment is has spread throughout the world.
With our technology growing it has become a lot simpler to see what our unemployment rate is

Running Head: Unemployment

and was. The number of people needing to work has grown as well. Back in the 1920 most
women did not work in their families, but today (according to www.bls.gov) 59.1 percent of
married-couple families both people are working. Times have changed and we will have to see
how the unemployment rate will change in the future.

Running Head: Unemployment

Work Cited
"Unemployment." Investopedia. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/unemployment.asp>.

Kel, Kelly. The Care for Legalizing Capitalism. Auburn. 238. Print.

Geier, Kathleen. "No, Walmart Doesn't Create Jobs." Political Animal. Washington
Monthly, 10 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animala/2013_08/no_walmart_doesnt_create_jobs046321.php>.

Aleiehem, Sholem. The Further Adventures of Menachem-Mendl. Syracuse:

Syracuse UP. 134. Print

Holy Bible. 15:11 Deuteronomy Print.

Havemann, Joel. "The Great Recession of 2008-09: Year In Review 2009."

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Web.
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1661642/The-GreatRecession-of-2008-09-Year-In-Review-2009>.

Nourbakhsh, Illah. "It's Time to Talk about the Burgeoning Robot Middle Class."
Technology Review. MIT, 14 May 2013. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.
<http://www.technologyreview.com/view/514861/its-time-to-talk-about-theburgeoning-robot-middle-class/>.

Running Head: Unemployment

United States Department of Labor. Web.

<http://www.dol.gov/_sec/media/reports/femalelaborforce/>.