Since we discusses unemployment today, thought I would share this recently published information provided by Bloomberg. This short video and corresponding article discuss that there is a decrease in this week's jobless claims. This is great news for the United States economy! But do these numbers really tell us much? Though the decrease in claims means less people are filing for unemployment insurance, the decrease may be seasonally related. Based on the information you observed today in class, do you think unemployment is still a pressing issue in the United States? How and to what extend should the Federal Reserve react to our 7.8% unemployment rate?
The article seemed weary of how long this trend will last. It is very encouraging to see and I don't plan on feeling better about it until this is a longer term trend. I think the U.S. should continue to think of unemployment as a problem. I am encouraged by this, however, especially knowing that in two short years I will be looking for a job.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment, like Abby said, should still continue to be an issue we keep tabs. I think this is an obvious improvement, but again, the article points to this decrease in unemployment seems to be only temporary but it good to see some sort of change, especially in our economy's recent state. Right now, I think that unemployment is not going to be the biggest issue to tackle (in response to the 7.8%) but rather the debt issue and the coming fiscal cliff and pay cuts. Interesting article, I hope that we can continue this increase and our economy will come around!
ReplyDeletei will go with the general comment's trend here and agree that the fall in claims seems seasonal. However i will not go as far as comparing to the values of 2008, as the article suggests. As we saw in class in class today the financial market seems to be improving and, unlike Quiggin, I see this as a good sign. If there is going to be any increase in claims its not going to be as bad as that one if 2008.
ReplyDeleteI agree with abby. I am definitley encouraged to see this trend but this article does not seem to think that it is going to last. I think Unemployment is still a big pressing issue in our economy today even though this is a good sign.
ReplyDeleteIf it is a truly a 'big' issue, I haven't heard it mentioned in the political sphere since the Election period. Many economists today estimate that employment figures will rejuvenate back to pre-recession rates by 2015, regardless of government intervention. In fact, this was one of Governor Romney's more humorous 'promises', considering that this number is foretasted to recover anyways.
ReplyDeleteUnemployment figures are obviously important to our economy. However some unemployment is good considering fractional unemployment, and the precarious nature of 'full unemployment' for the rest of the economy. Unless we see signs of unemployment rising, I believe that as other variables within our GDP improve, we will see this data recover even more as well.
Because we are living in the world full of uncertainty, this article addresses an unpredictable future for U.S economy. I agree that unemployment is still a big pressing issue in U.S economy today. The job market is still tight but the financial market is improving. I hope in the next two years there will be more jobs available.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Andrew. Long term business cycles show that the unemployment rates will hit its trough and crest in a cycles. As we have already past the trough, the rise is expected. We are somewhere in the region of soft-landing. The government and the Fed will try to push the economy back to full employment and hence further drop can be expected. Unless something goes horribly wrong, unemployment rate will switch back to what we consider normal during full employment.
ReplyDeleteI think unemployment is always a big issue. There will always be some sort of unemployment. The numbers vary during different economic times. In a perfect economy, there would be no unemployment. Even though this is a step in the right direction, unemployment will strictly depend on the ups and downs of the markets.
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