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Rebekah Falkenberg
Ms. Gardner
English 0
8 May 2014
An Abundance of Workers: An Absence of Work
Today our unemployment rates are at an all time high; moreover, for every three
applicants there is one available position, making for an unending cycle of a fraile job economy
(Long Time Gone). To be in a state of unemployment is to be out of work or jobless. Many
people all over America fit into this definition; therefore, the government should provide an
easier pathway for those out of work in order to rebuild our job economy. More importantly,
unemployment is affecting our society emotionally. In his New York Times article, The Human
Disaster of Unemployment, Dean Baker discusses the links of, suicide, divorce and the
recurrence of low paying jobs through generations to the loss of jobs. Indeed, unemployment
affects more than the economy, but the individual as well. According to the United States
Department of Labor, we have unemployment benefits for those without work that can last for up
to seventy-three weeks; yet, this is simply a short term solution to a long term problem. Many
would argue that Americans can resolve unemployment through austerity, and the cost of
repairing our job market outweighs the benefits (Strauss). Nevertheless, in order to reduce
unemployment rates in America, help from the federal government is necessary in many areas:
creating positions for the jobless, ushering long-time unemployed into the job markets, and
assisting parents out of work.
Originally, many would insist that repairing our unemployment is cost problematic and is
not in need of the federal government's assistance. Jerry Shenk from the Daily News, author of

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History Shows Benefits of Austerity, insists our society is full of overspending and over-
indulgence and in order to to prosper, America must return to austerity. In addition, Jeffrey
Rosenzweig, writer from Atlanta Journal-Constitution, states in his article Can the U.S. Grow
Sustainable Jobs? that if we were to support unemployment, taxing would go up and the
incentive to work would decrease. Altogether, those in opposition of government assistance
believe that, through aiding the jobless, they are babysitting our unemployed and the only way
to boost the economy is to return to the Keynesian policy--the physiological forces driving an
individual (Rosensweig). Even though there are many complications in contributing to
unemployment, assistance is necessary to cease the unemployment chain in future generations
and start the long process to recovering our job market.
Unmistakably, unemployment is a problem that cannot be easily fixed; moreover, it will
take cooperation and more hard times to come to increase our job market . However, in order to
boost our economy, it is necessary to start now, knowing this is not a problem that will likely
work itself out over time. The article, Long Time Gone, reveals that in 2007 the
unemployment was only five percent; now the rate has climbed two points higher to seven
percent, proving that time is not healing the jobless, but causing more damage. If we continue to
ignore the unemployed, it will not surpass our current rates and we will continue to damage our
economy for our future, and our children to come. Jobs including, but limited to, teachers,
firefighters, and policemen are being eliminated due to budget cuts. Rosenzweig points out that
in order to boost the economy, we need to be supporting the jobs we have instead of reducing
valuable opportunities for the jobless. Small businesses are often an option for those out of work,
contributing to size of the labor force as well as producing money to support our countries wealth
and the individuals living in it. However, the government rarely funds these new

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entrepreneurships that could impact our economy by commencing the outflow of cash to small,
local business owners (Rosenzweig). These small businesses could then produce and retain
money locally, and therefore allow the small towns businesses to flourish independently.
Without assistance from the government our job economy will continue in a poor state;
nevertheless, with help, our local businesses can blossom and unemployment rates can deflate if
the government will make jobs more accessible. Finally, if unemployment rates have continually
gone up over the past years, why should the there be a sudden spike in our job market over more
time with no assistance?
Furthermore, assistance from the government is needed to bring back those who have
been long time unemployed. Research from Long Time Gone shows that workers who have
been out of work for more than six months were less likely to get a job offer than new,
inexperienced applicants. Similarly, Baker voices that workers over fifty have the largest
percentage of a job downturn; moreover, about four percent of those without jobs are long-time
unemployed, although this would be fifty percent higher if we were to include the ones
relinquished looking for a job. The majority of our unemployed consists of those who have been
without work for over six months; therefore, every month that we wait to instigate the revival of
our job market, more of our unemployed neighbors lose hope of finding a job. Without necessary
assistance our elderly and long-time unemployed will continue to remain jobless and hope will
slowly diminish from those who have been out of a job longer than six months. As a result, those
who are long-time unemployed will have little hope of returning to the job force without the
government's help, and younger unskilled workers will often take their places.
Ultimately, the government should take action to decreasing unemployment in order to
reduce the physical and emotional tolls it takes on a family and an individual. Minimum wage is

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less than eight dollars an hour; however, according to the Living Wage Calculator, a family of
five needs to make a minimum of about thirty dollars an hour to survive in todays economy.
Therefore, it is impossible for a family to sustain themselves on minimum wage let alone with no
job at all. Baker argues that the burden of unemployment is often too much on an individual;
moreover, studies show that if unemployment were to increase by just ten percent, suicides
would increase about one and a half percent which would approximate to one hundred twenty-
eight suicides per month in America. We see that if unemployment rates were to inflate, suicide
would increase because of the large burden of stress felt by an individual without a way to
support oneself. In addition, families are often broken apart through divorce as a result of a
spouses unemployment. According to Bakers research, there is an eighteen percent probability
of divorce if the husband loses his job and a thirteen percent chance of divorce if the wife loses
her job. Families are being separated due to the burden being in a state of unemployment.
Furthermore, children whose fathers were unemployed are seen to have a lower income later in
life: nine percent lower earnings than a child with employed parents. If the government does not
take action in the job market, we will see affects not only in the current generation, but future
generations as well. The cycle of unemployment will continue in a monotonic line if the
government does not take action soon. Therefore, for people today and our children to come, it
is essential to take action now on the issue of unemployment in order to put an end to ones
struggle to survive.
In conclusion, the federal government's involvement is essential in order to boost our
economy, reinstate the long-time unemployed, and revive families and individuals who have the
burden of unemployment. Unemployment not only impacts our society as a whole, but the
outlook of life for an unemployed worker and their families. For future generations to come, we

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could provide a more stable economy if the government and our society could would work
together to lower unemployment rates.














Works Cited
Baker, Dean, and Kevin Hassett. "The Human Disaster of Unemployment." New York Times.
13 May. 2012: SR.9. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 07 May. 2014.
Glasmeier, Amy K. "Introduction to the Living Wage Calculator." Living Wage Calculator.
West Arete, 2014. Web. 04 May 2014.
"Long Time Gone; Unemployment." Economist. 04 Jan. 2014: 19. SIRS Issues Researcher.
Web. 07 May. 2014.
Rosenweig, Jeffrey, and Dorsey D. Farr. "Can U.S. Government Grow Sustainable Jobs?."

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 14 Sep. 2011: A.12.SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May.
2014.
Shenk, Jerry. "History Shows Benefits of Austerity." Daily News (Lebanon, PA). 01 Jun.
2012: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May. 2014.
Strauss Einhorn, Cheryl. "Unemployment--Or Welfare." Commentary. Apr. 2011: 22-26. SIRS
Issues Researcher. Web. 07 May. 2014.
Vinik, Danny. "Here's How Long Unemployment Benefits Now Last In Each State." Business
Insider. Business Insider, Inc, 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 07 May 2014.