On Friday, the monthly job statistics were posted. It showed that there were 163,000 new jobs in the month of July. While adding new jobs is good news, it makes some people wonder if the right numbers are being focused on.
According to an article posted on MSN over the weekend, 41% of the U.S. population over 16 is unemployed. That statistic has barely moved since June 2009.
So maybe instead of reporting new jobs, maybe the focus should shift to the jobless? The jobless rate of U.S. workers has only been slightly decreasing since 2009 but there's one key factor that most people don't realize. The jobless rate does not include those who have given up looking for work. Another factor that isn't included in that number is those who consider themselves to be independent contractors or self-employed professionals.
The article also states that out of unemployed workers over 45, 11% of them have been out of work for 99 weeks or more. That's almost two years of struggling to make ends meet! But it does ask the question, are there fewer jobs or fewer skilled workers?
Of course, this leads to yet another problem. If unemployed workers are finding that they lack the necessary skills to re-enter the work force, how do they afford the rising cost of education? Even if they are employed, finding the resources to get that education is still difficult.
Overall, the topic of unemployed workers won't be going away anytime soon. Maybe if we spent as much time talking about them as we do about new jobs, there may be an opportunity to find a solution.
What do you think? Do we focus too much on new jobs and not enough on people who are unemployed? Do you think that there are enough resources out there for people to remain skilled workers?
We'd love to know your thoughts, please post them in the comment section below.
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