Jimenez 1

Katya Jimenez
English
13 March 2015
The past couple of weeks I have been researching the unemployment rate in the United
States of America. Now it is impossible for there to be absolutely no unemployment and the U.S.
recognizes this. However, there is a possibility that eventually, there will be very little
unemployment around the States. How does this affect the economy? Glad you asked. The
economy is affected by a decrease of money going into stores or businesses.
Lets say for example you had a really good paying job and you lived in a nice gated
community and you owned a boat and you paid for your childrens private education. Now
youve lost your job and your spouse was unemployed by choice. Now what happens? In rare
cases do hot shot job owners have so much and then lose it all. Youve had to sell your boat,
along with the space on the dock you were renting in order to keep it there. Youd have to
downsize your place. You could go job hunting but what if you dont find another job that pays
that well?
Simplicity is the key in having a successful life. Youre kids education would suffer and
your family life might as well. Job losses have a huge impact on even people who have simple
lives as well. My neighbors father got laid off during that recession and her family had to move
in with her parents. We dont live in an expensive area whatsoever but her family couldnt afford
that anymore.

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We strive to do our best with what we are given but it will be a constant struggle while this
economy has its rollercoaster rides. The government can help in crises like these with
unemployment benefits and food assistance.
Prolonged unemployment can lead to a corrosion of skills and bitterness to education.
Especially taking into consideration the example I gave about a man losing his well paying job.
After all those years of education he spent right out of high school to result in losing his life
basis. Bitterness can result in any cases whether it was a good paying job or not because being
just a good worker could get overlooked so much. A lot of high school students have lost an
interest in going to college because they hear of experiences of people who went to law school
for almost 8 years and now they work at Vons down the street. Many American citizens have
their GED and Bachelor Degrees tucked away in a drawer because of competition and lack of
occupations at workplaces.
The unemployment rate today is tough to bring to a specific number. Long-term
unemployment went from 2.7 million to less than 1.1 million this past year. Jobs have opened up
all over the place. Simple jobs sometimes like working at a food place or a coffee shop or even a
construction site. Local businesses have really opened up in my area and are successfully
thriving. Teenagers decreased the unemployment rate by 1.7%. With the progress we are making
we should eventually have very little unemployed people.
The unemployment sometimes depends generally on what state you live in. In other
words, unemployment may be environmental. The top ten states that have higher unemployment
rates are as follows; North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Utah, Minnesota, Idaho, Colorado,

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Hawaii, New Hampshire, and Iowa. Living in California definitely has its benefits other than
sunny weather all the time.
Underemployment is also something people have to deal with. Did you know that the
minimum wage used to be frozen at $3.35 an hour? Imagine having to raise a family of 3 with
that little money. Now-a-days that would be impossible. In 2007, President Bush signed a law
that would raise minimum wage to at least $7.25 an hour over the toll of 2 years. That was a law
that was passed a little over 5 years ago. The outcome of that law has given Americans the ability
to provide for their families and themselves a little better. Unfortunately, with the minimum wage
going up, the price of everyday items also goes up.
As countries compete with one another it also makes it harder for the United States itself
to flourish. The United States is not known for creating its own stuff. McDonalds is practically
the only thing people associate with Americans. We rely so much as a nation on the imports of
other countries goods.
Homelessness is sometimes sadly the outcome of unemployment. Homelessness as
obvious as the name is, means to be without a home. This is something some people take so
much for granted. We hardly think about the other people in the world today who dont even
have a roof over their heads. Homes cost money and without a job, you cant afford a house.
Many people result to their job loss by moving in with their friends or family.
Well heres another problem. What if you do not have a family or your family was relying
solely on your income? What now? Youre practically stuck. The government has helped with
this issue in small ways but still big enough to help people out. There are homeless shelters

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you can stay at and be given food when it comes down to it. Unfortunately, peoples pride really
gets in the way and they think they are too good for shelters and they suffer from that.
Here is the outlying issue about the unemployed. The unemployed stay unemployed by
choice. During times when businesses need more workers they tend to cast off the ones that got
laid off because they believe they have unwelcoming characteristics that they dont want to
associate there business with. Business owners can be huge discriminators when it boils down to
it. Very few business owners really do their background research on why these individuals lost
their jobs. Most every time, the reason these individuals lose their jobs was due to lack of
economic growth and their company shutting down.
As I began this research paper I said that the unemployment could never be nonexistent.
As I close this paper I stay true to that belief. I will backtrack and explain why I do not believe
that. It is impossible to have absolutely everyone have a job. Yes people retire which means
people will have job openings. The retirement age will go up and change from time to time. Now
the retirement age is 65 but you can try and wiggle yourself out of this system at the lowest age
of 62. People born in 1960 or later will have the retirement age of 67. So as I made a point, the
retirement age will always rise. Which calls you to question that maybe one day the retirement
age could be 100? Probably not but who knows with this day and age we might need people
working up until their death.
The economy will always have its ups and downs just like a rollercoaster. You may need
to adjust your seatbelt and enjoy the ride when you can and be careful not to bite your tongue
while it goes down.

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This research assignment has given me a lot of information I can find applicable as I start
job hunting and entering into adulthood. I now understand why we are required to take
economics and government in high school. Its nice to know that the Government has options
like Obama-care and unemployment benefits because it reminds you that the Government is
made up of humans just like us.

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Works Cited
1.
2.
3.
4.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
http://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/employment.html
Vedder, Richard. Out of Work: Unemployment and Government in Twentieth-Century

America. New York Press, 1997.

5. Keyssar, Alexander. Out of Work: The First Century of Unemployment in
Massachusetts. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
6. Davidson, Mary Janice. Undead and Unemployed. (Google eBook), August 2004.
7. Howell, David R. Fighting Unemployment: The Limits of Free Market Orthodoxy.
Oxford University Press, 2004.
8. Eichengreen, Barry J. Interwar Unemployment in International Perspective. Springer
Science & Business Media, 1988.