This graph makes me think things are worse than I thought.
On the other hand, after the election the politicians will probably stop contantly extending unemployment benefits and that will cause the unemployment numbers to fall. (People tend to be much more successful about finding jobs after their unemployment benefits run out.)
But nevertheless, that median weeks of unemployment number is huge!
Via The Atlantic.
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
carefree 07.21.10 at 1:51 pm
“people tend to be much more successful about finding jobs after their unemployment benefits run out”…come on John…very few people want to be on unemployment…for monetary and self-worth reasons…if you are worried about people ripping us all off…just look to Wall Street…you can pay a lot of unemployment benifits with 20 million dollar bonuses
ken44 07.21.10 at 6:49 pm
“Summer of Recovery?” Yeah, right.
Face it folks it`s going to take years for the economy to recover.
I`m in the middle of evicting one of my tenants right now. The husband lost his job and although I`m sorry see them go I can`t afford to carry them. Times are hard and likely to get harder in the near future.
Mark 07.22.10 at 7:11 pm
“people tend to be much more successful about finding jobs after their unemployment benefits run out”…
That’s a fact.
Mark 07.22.10 at 7:14 pm
The graph says the shared areas are US recessions. So… we’re out of it?
Sure doesn’t feel like it.
Shift 07.22.10 at 9:38 pm
If the unemployment rate was less than 5%, I could agree with John.
BUT: The unemployment rate is ~10%.
That is a fact.
We are far from a situation where there is enough jobs for people that are truly motivated.
It is silly to think that there is enough jobs in our current econimic climate to expect every motivated person to be employed.
I don’t know how long it would take for me to find employment if I lost the job I have. I don’t want to find out, and I don’t want to tempt fate by acting like these people are simply lazy.
Being mean is easy. Being mean to those less fortunate is cowardly.
david 07.23.10 at 7:28 am
This is all academic. In my opinion it is about basic fairness. I am an employer. I pay federal and state unemployment insurance. This goes into a pool to cover the unemployed. The plan covers 26 weeks. When the insurance is used up it ceases to be insurance and becomes welfare. Call it what it is.
There are jobs out there. They just might not be what you want or expect. My son just graduated college and he is having no trouble going on interviews and being hired for sales marketing jobs. Hopefully not a career, but something to get by with until times get better.
The fairness issue comes in when the 26 weeks run out. We have an administration that picks winners and losers in our economy instead of the free market. If you worked for the auto industry and got a pay check your benefits get extended over 99 weeks, but if you were self-employed you get no benefits. The answer is not to give everyone “welfare”, but to go out and bust your ass and do what ever takes to bring in some cash. All the family members work to help out to survive. That is the way it was around my house when I grew up in the 60’s. and it worked. I learned a work ethic that served me very well in my life. I do not observe the same ethic in society today.
carefree 07.23.10 at 7:49 am
Shift…I could not have said it any better!
Cbass 07.23.10 at 9:46 am
David,
I could not agree with you more, our society has indeed lost it’s work ethic, among other things.
I began working at 15 and I have never looked back. In the mid 90’s I went from making decent money I could live on down to a minimum wage job (motorcycle accident). When I finally healed enough to work again I found that I had no job and no transportation. The first job I could find within walking distance was working in retail for minimum wage. Although I felt I was more intelligent and had more to offer a potential employer I took that job. I did it because I had to. I gave them my very best everyday and was thankful that they had given me an opportunity, even for $4hr. I was quickly viewed as a potential candidate for open management positions. When I was not at work making $4 hr I was out hiking around the valley in 100+ degree heat looking for a better job. I climbed the ladder back to where I am today. It is easier to find a new girlfriend when you already have one.
If we fall on tough times we need to suck it up and do what we have to do. If needed we should rely on family and friends to help us, not big brother. I would be at McDs next week serving you a Happy Meal w/ fries if that is what I had to do. I just looked on monster dot com and there are a lot of jobs out there, 40+ pages just for Phoenix in fact. I would expect this number to be quite a bit smaller if there were no jobs?
Mark 07.23.10 at 6:32 pm
Shift,
I did not mean to be mean [sic]. Being an employer, my comment reflects the truth. As unemployment benefits are about to run out, job seekers are more likely to settle on salary and benefits.
And IMO there is nothing wrong with that.
John Wake 07.26.10 at 9:22 am
I had a gentleman unsubscribe from my newsletter today because of my comments about this graph. http://homesalenews.com.
“I have elected to unsubscribe to your newsletter due to the comments you made regarding the unemployment graph you recently published. I obviously don’t share your view, and I don’t think you put much thought into publishing such nonsense for readers to see.”
Interesting! Let’s talk about it.
carefree said, ““people tend to be much more successful about finding jobs after their unemployment benefits run out”…come on John…very few people want to be on unemployment…for monetary and self-worth reasons…if you are worried about people ripping us all off…just look to Wall Street…you can pay a lot of unemployment benifits with 20 million dollar bonuses”
My statement wasn’t intended as an opinion or to be controversial. It’s my understanding that the data shows that people tend to get jobs as, or soon after, their unemployment benefits run out. It’s a statement of fact, not opinion. If I have my facts wrong, then I’m wrong, of course. Just send me some data.
Shift made a good point that the effect I just described might not be as true at higher levels of unemployment. I don’t know the answer to that.
I wonder if the unsubscriber was upset with this part, “… after the election the politicians will probably stop constantly extending unemployment benefits…” because he thought it had political overtones and we have a political not an economic disagreement.
It’s more my political judgment of how politicians work and it alludes to the possibility that unemployment benefits may not have been the same in the previous recessions which could partially explain why the shape of the graph is different this time.
russ 07.26.10 at 11:54 am
we are competing now on a worldwide scale for jobs…jobs are simply not coming back here. Our living standard is decreasing and will continue to do so till we reach the “global” equalibrium…
When someone in China is working for 2.00/hr, and that is enough to make a living (what they accept as a living), then we can’t compete at 22.00 per hour with benefits…
Its a trickle down effect of willing, and able, to work for less…
The India folks took the jobs from us..
The Chinese are taking the jobs from the india folks…
The Brazilians are taking the jobs from the Chinese….
The Ukrainians are taking the jobs from the Brazilians…
whose next?…..
Mark 07.26.10 at 12:02 pm
John, what you said is what happens in the real world. Whoever unsubscribed is simply barking at the wrong tree AND out of touch with reality. Let’s just move on.