Introduction
Unemployment is a state in which people are willing to work, but there are limited chances and opportunities for them. In the US, the issue has been a dragging factor when building the country’s economy due to the high rate of people lacking professional engagement since resources sometimes become scarce. The US has an unemployment rate of 3.6% as of 2022, which is significantly lower than in previous years (Kochhar, 2022). That translates to an approximated figure of 5.7 million, where the labor force participation rate is 62.1%, and there is a forecast that the issue may strike further with time (Saboori et al., 2022). The reasons why there are many unemployed people are due to the aggregate demand, global competition, and professional dynamics that are affected by education and training. The unemployment problem in the US can be ended by having examination programs driven by innovation through work sharing. Additionally, taming unequal resource allocation and fragmenting working industries into more sustainable products for everyone to get an opportunity can help.
The Nature and Scope of the Issue
Unemployment is a factor that disrupts the economic transition of a country. The US is among the countries that have combatted unemployment by all means. When compared to many countries, the country is far ahead when it comes to the issue. However, due to the high population in the US, the people affected contribute to the imbalances that occur when it comes to meeting daily life requirements such as schooling, food, and shelter. More than 520000 job opportunities were created by 2021, which led to a slip in unemployment from 3.6% to 3.5% (Saboori et al., 2022). From those figures, it is clear that the country is optimistic that it shall combat the issue despite the economic shrinking evident due to the current pandemic.
The nature of unemployment has led to various impacts on US society. Firstly, people have experienced challenges affording medical care where they cannot pay for basic drugs for themselves and their families. As a result, diseases such as cancer and HIV have claimed many lives despite government subsidies through public health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Secondly, unemployed people have not been able to buy sufficient food for their families (Saboori et al., 2022). Many children continue to languish in poverty, where they easily become street urchins and their parents hide from them. There have been cases of crime where robbery has been witnessed in various parts of the country. It is highly anticipated that they resolve crime as one way to get income due to the unemployment rate that is evident in the US. The other nature of unemployment is that many parents have a challenge of uniting together, which leads to many splits hence, social disparities such as divorce, suicide, and conflicts (Vona et al., 2017). The issue must be curled to ensure that the is one of the most comfortable countries to live in.
Drawing from the Course
There is a significant cost when individuals are not employed since many issues develop from the subject matter. The course has discussed the high unemployment rate as a source of debt where many people accrue overdrafts while trying to make ends meet. Additionally, through the course, learners understand the existence of higher payments from federal and state governments for matters such as food and medical care. While reading the concepts in the course, one would be probed to research more about the issue where it is clear that more than 70% of the productive units from the US economy are consumed on personal levels and through unemployed workers (Saboori et al., 2022). Therefore, the course helps a student understand that the cost of unemployment in the US is significant.
The course has leveraged the bottom line of unemployment in that there seem to be dragging factors to the people of the US and the government at large. Firstly, inflation has been the main worry regarding the community’s welfare, where many residents complain about hiked prices for basic commodities in the market. Secondly, jobless people have been affected by mental conditions, and there is a fear that the US population may struggle to combat the issue Vona et al., 2017). That is common for unemployed persons who may have families to care for and those with other requirements in terms of life expenditures.
The Labor Market, Supply and Demand
It is essential to think about the labor market to understand the issue comprehensively. In this case, it is true that when many people are willing to work but there are limited opportunities, unemployment upsurges. Hence, the labor supply goes high while the demand lowers (Vona et al., 2017). That is why many people apply for job offers in a given company that requires only a few persons to fill the vacant gaps. On that note, wage inflation can be related to economic change in terms of remuneration to workers, and that means people will be hired to work but paid a little amount. Currently, there is little bid for job offers for employee services where only a few are paid high wages. Others stay at one point for a long period, meaning the labor dynamics experience wage inflation in the market (Vona et al., 2017). When there is low unemployment, the demand for labor by employers goes past the supply. However, that is seen when economic stability depends on a given country’s productive factor.
Experts Opinion
With the current unemployment rate, experts have warned about the uncertainty of the issue. They have projected that as time goes by, unemployment may rise significantly in the US due to the impact seen by the coronavirus (Kochhar, 2022). Many countries will take time before they structure fully in terms of production. Therefore, imports and experts shall be affected hence, many people miss chances to work. However, experts have forecasted that with the rapid growth of online opportunities, many people can find alternatives concerning the same, reducing unemployment rates.
The Bible’s Stand
The Bible acknowledges that unemployment is part of people’s economic issues. Matthew 6:28, the Bible says, “And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin” (Bucher, 2020). That means God understands the economic challenges that His people face due to a lack of resources. He encourages his people to have hope in Him, and they shall get restored to the expected state.
Conclusion
For unemployment to end, various factors need to be applied. Firstly, decentralization of industrial activities is required to reduce the high rate of unemployed persons. That calls for the government to open many avenues for production in collaboration with the private sector to engage many employees. Secondly, people need to have labor-market training and work experience frameworks that can be applicable in many fields rather than segmenting skills into specific tasks that may limit them hence unemployment (Saboori et al., 2022). On my side, I need to create innovative ideas such as agribusiness and encourage youths to use scientific knowledge to grow cash crops, which brings money and settle for self-employment.
References
Bucher, M. (2020). What does it mean to “consider the lilies of the field”? iBelieve.com.
Kochhar, R. (2022). Unemployment rose higher in three months of COVID-19 than in two years of the great recession. Pew Research Center.
Saboori, B., Gholipour, H., Rasoulinezhad, E., & Ranjbar, O. (2022). Renewable energy sources and unemployment rate: Evidence from the US states. Energy Policy, 168(4), 31-55.
Vona, F., Marin, G., & Consoli, D. (2017). Measures, drivers and effects of green employment: evidence from local labor markets, 2006-2014. SSRN Electronic Journal, 6(3), 22-25.