Roderick !

1
Richard Roderick
Cindy Rogers
English 12
October 15, 2015
A#8 Unemployment Research Paper
Unemployment, is a very serious topic in the United States. In any economy, there will be people that
are not employed, and will be without a job. The difference however, is that depending on how efficient
the economy/government is, the amount of people that are without a job will decrease. Currently the reported unemployment rate is 5.1% and has dropped 0.8% since last year. If the reports are to be believed,
we are making decent progress in re-employing people. Some of the topics that I will be covering in this
essay include; the current unemployment situation, solutions to lower/end unemployment, and how to
become re-employed quickly.

In the United States, millions of people are unemployed. The

reported unemployment rate, is 5.1% or 7.9 million people. The
government says that unemployment rates have dropped 0.8%
since last year, however I feel that like in the book Animal
Farm by: George Orwell, the government is manipulating the
numbers to make the people of the United States feel happy, and
accomplished. This idea of wrong reporting is supported in the

finance.yahoo.com

quote; Unemployed individuals who haven't actively looked for a job

in the last four weeks, for any number of reasons, actually slip away from the Labor Department's unemployment calculations. (Andrew Soergel, U.S News). The unemployment numbers are affected by various methods used in their reporting such as; those without a job and no longer qualifying for unemployment, or those accepting positions far below their qualifications. The causes of unemployment varies,
based on things such as economy, popular trends/jobs, and more personal things such as attendance, and
work ethic. The jobs that are most impacted are ones that require little education, and others that are run-

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ning low in popularity/usefulness. Some of the jobs that have seen the highest unemployment rates include; construction workers, drivers, telemarketers, and many lower education/training jobs. In lower education jobs if a worker is showing low work ethic, or can be replaced with a person of better skill, there
are many people that can readily replace them. Another reason why jobs at the lower end of education
requirements experience the highest unemployment, is often due to the limited knowledge that the person
has, limiting the diversity of opportunities available; a person such as a doctor, has had years of schooling, thus making them highly educated and in high demand and are qualified to perform a variety of jobs.
The information regarding the jobs that experience the highest unemployment rates is found in the quote,
On the other end of the spectrum are jobs in construction,
sales, and transportation. Not only do many of these jobs require less formal training and education, but some - like telemarketing -- tend to have high rates of turnover, said Abraham
Mosisa, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics.(Steve
Hargreaves, CNN Money). The effects of unemployment on
society and those unemployed differs. If you are employed but

www.buisnessinsider.com

are in a job threatened by unemployment, your work life becomes full

of the fear of not working hard enough, or being replaced. This fear of becoming unemployed, is what
increases hostility, stress, and competition in the workplace. By creating this competition, stress, hostility,
errors, and violence have a higher chance of occurring in the workplace. For people that are currently unemployed, the feeling of being the only one not working, depression, and the feeling of helplessness is
very common and frequently occurs. Many people that have been unemployed and found new work tend
to tell people that are unemployed currently, You have a choice now: either to spend your time blaming
yourself or to work out what you have learned to make things better in the future. (Robert L. Leahy,
Keeping your head after losing your job Pg. 11). This is a wonderful quote, as it is said by someone that
has been through the tough experience of unemployment, and is telling others who are currently unemployed, that if they use their mistakes to better themselves, they can make a better tomorrow and eventually become re-employed.

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In order to solve unemployment, we will have to look at many of the things that our government uses
as a source of income, and how it reduces its costs. In order to be able to lower unemployment, we will
have to do many things such as; stopping wage cuts, keep people hired and lower the amount of people
laid off, stop lying about the amount of people in positions, stop/lower foreign labor/trade, and create
more job opportunities. If we create more jobs for the general public, we will be able to expand our infrastructure, increase the standards of living, and have unemployment go down. By having jobs for the
public, we will be able to do things such as improving roads, sewage pipes, have better lights, improve
safety, and a happier feel amongst the people of the United States. Some jobs that could be provided, is
increase construction workers, engineers, and software/security jobs. If we allow schools to expand, more
teaching jobs will be available. Another action that would decrease unemployment, is lowering foreign
trade and labor. By sending all of our American brands
to China for manufacturing, or allowing multiple illegal
immigrants to have citizenship/ multiple working permits
for a single company, we are allowing our county to be in
the hands of others. A very prominent example of the problem involving foreign workers holding multiple visas for a
single company is seen in the quote, It isnt known how
many of the record 233,000 applications filed in April for

peopleforethicalliving.com

the 85,000 H-1B slots this year were duplicates. Some attorneys who prepare applications believe it could
be thousands. (Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal). By having as much foreign trade and labor as we
currently have, we are allowing other countries to both know of our devices and advancements, be able to
control our countrys goods, increase the amount of
unemployment in the U.S. and decrease unemployment
in other countries. Many companies are seeking foreign workers, as they are able to pay them less money
than that of an average American worker. Supporting

dailysignal.com

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evidence of companies seeking foreign labor, is found in the quote, Companies eager to hire foreign talent, mostly in the tech sector, and workers hoping for jobs in the U.S. have found ways to game a government lottery used to distribute a limited number of visas each year. (Miriam Jordan, Wall Street Journal). This gaming of the system causes the numbers of applicants to appear artificially high and makes the
need for these visas appear higher than it really is. This is also paired with the foreign workers being
brought in, and taking jobs from the American workers and college graduates. If we were to stop having
all of our goods being made in China, we would be able to have more jobs in the U.S. , spend much less
on transportation fees, decrease our air pollution levels, and allow our country to have good quality items,
rather than cheap, lead filled, items that are brought from China. If we were to modify welfare for the able
bodied, we could potentially modify the motivations of the people that expect things to be given to them.
If instead of being given a check, able bodied individuals on welfare were required to report to a temporary working program to perform jobs of benefit to society, these individuals could have a sense of dignity
and pride in working, instead of a sense of entitlement. This would change the incentive for individuals,
either report to an agency that determines their work assignments, or find a job themselves in which they
are able to determine the work and agree on the pay. Some individuals may still opt for the government
run program, but society could still benefit from their work, whether it be providing cleaning services at
city, state, or federal buildings, work projects related to infrastructure, or assisting in public parks; there
are countless opportunities to utilize people in place of contracts for services. Changing the welfare system could have people contributing to society, rather than taking away from it. If we were to lower the
amount of labor decreases and wage cuts caused by competition from foreign workers, we would be able
to allow a better future for the younger generation, allow the unemployment rates to decrease, and limit
the number of people that have to work two or more jobs in order to survive in todays economy.

In this tough time of economic depletion, debt, and labor cuts, many people are faced with becoming
unemployed. Jobs that require little training/schooling are most susceptible to having people replace
them, or being put out of work. The people that are unemployed often feel depressed, have lowered selfesteem, feel as if they are the only one thats unemployed, and often hide their situation from others. Of-

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ten when people are unemployed, they begin to look for another job, but find that they are sometimes rejected, thus lowering their self-esteem even more. Some actions that can be taken in order to boost ones
chances of being re-employed include searching a broad spectrum of jobs, be well educated and persistent, and be confident when presenting yourself to a possible employer. By increasing your self-esteem
and confidence in yourself even after becoming unemployed and perhaps rejected by a few people, you
will have a higher chance of obtaining a job by being confident with your abilities and skills. For example, if you were looking for employees, would you choose the person that was confident in their abilities,
or would you choose the person that looked depressed, was almost begging for a job, or was not as confident with their abilities and skills? The answer to the example, is to hire the person that is confident in
their skills. The importance of confidence is evident in the quote, Getting to the decision maker with
whom you can establish a personal connection. (Tom Brophy, Little Victories: Conquering unemployment Pg. 86). This quote explains that by establishing a personal connection with the employer, it will
increase your chances of getting the job, but it will take the confidence to do so, while not also making a
sob story about you being unemployed. Another way that will allow you to increase your chance of being
re-employed is to search a broad spectrum of resources for locating available jobs, this is supported in the
quote, Use LinkedIn, Facebook, and other networking opportunities to work through a chain of people
beginning with your own contacts until you can find a referral to the person who is hiring. (Tom Brophy,
Little Victories: Conquering unemployment Pg. 86). This quote explains that by speaking to a large group
of people, you will increase your chances of locating and getting a job, and getting out of your unemployment crisis. Finally, the last way to become re-employed is to be well educated, and persistent. Being
persistent and diligent has many benefits, it is also explained as one of the best ways to be re-employed as
seen in the quote, Allocate 1.5 hours for 12 to 14 calls every day (Tom Brophy, Little Victories: Conquering unemployment Pg. 87). By calling 12 to 14 different companies daily, will allow you to reach out
to multiple companies and will increase your chances of being re-employed. Another quote that explains
the importance of being well educated, is the quote, Google anyone you intend to call. If its worth making the call, its worth knowing something about that person.(Tom Brophy, Little Victories: Conquering
unemployment Pg. 87). This quote explains the importance of researching the people and companies you

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wish to work for, thus allowing you to have a more personal connection with the employer and increasing
your chances of being re-employed greatly.

In conclusion, there are many reasons that unemployment is still an issue in the U.S. but there are
also many ways to fix it. To start, the incentives for people to seek employment must be present, there
must be an incentive to work that far outweighs the incentives of not working. By being confident and
persistent, you will increase your chance of being employed, being motivated and actively seeking re-employment is important, as the longer an individual is out of the workforce the more difficult it becomes to
be re-employed. By lowering foreign trade/labor we can decrease the amount of jobs taken by others. By
not allowing foreigners to have multiple visas for one company will increase the amount of people employed greatly, as eliminating multiple applications of single individuals will allow other applicants to be
placed. Stopping wage cuts will provide the needed incentive to get people back in the labor force.
Changes to welfare could be used to create more jobs for the general public that require less skill, which
could start many more people on a path to employment. Overall, unemployment will almost always exist
for a variety of reasons, but there are many ways that it can be decreased greatly, and allow the United
States to rise back to its former glory as the place of opportunity and wealth.

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Works Cited:

Brophy, Tom. Little Victories: Conquering Unemployment. West Trenton, NJ: Memsender, 2010. Print.
(This was used for 4 quotes)

Hargreaves, Steve, and Tami Luhby. "Jobs with the Lowest (and Highest) Unemployment." CNN Money.
CNN Money, 7 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2015. <http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/04/news/economy/jobslowest-unemployment/>. (This was used for 1 quote)

Jordan, Miriam. "U.S. Firms, Workers Try to Beat H-1B Visa Lottery System." WSJ. WSJ, 2 June 2015.
Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/companies-workers-game-h-1b-visa-lottery-lawyerssay-1433237586>. (This was used for 2 quotes)

Leahy, Robert L. Keeping Your Head after Losing Your Job: How to Survive Unemployment. N.p.:
Behler Publications, 2014. Print. (This was used for 1 quote)

Soergel, Andrew. "Unemployment Rates." U.S. News and World Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.
<http://www.usnews.com/news/the-report/articles/2015/07/16/unemployment-is-low-but-more-workersare-leaving-the-workforce#>. (This was used for 1 quote)

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Photos:
Chart: Found using Google Images. Source; finance.yahoo.com
Map of U.S: Found using Google Images. Source; www.buisnessinsider.com
Political Cartoon: Found using Google Images. Source; peopleforethicalliving.com
U.S.A v.s China chart: Found using Google Images. Source; dailysignal.com