11 Reasons Why the Unemployment Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think

[marmar]

AlterNet / By Michael Thornton

11 Reasons Why the Unemployment Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think
Here are 11 unemployment facts that mass media underreport or ignore completely.

September 14, 2011 |


President Obama recently addressed the nation during a joint session of Congress and the main theme of that address was the need to create jobs, lots of jobs, millions of jobs. The Great Recession has cost US workers millions of jobs and those jobs have not come back as quickly as they disappeared and in many cases those jobs will never return. According to the Economic Policy Institute, “In total, there are 6.9 million fewer jobs today than there were in December 2007.”

That is only a small part of the jobs-hole story, a story that is often ignored, overlooked and oversimplified by mass media.

The media has failed to present the unemployment problem, with all its associated economically devastating consequences, in the manner it deserves. It’s possible that unemployment facts and figures don’t translate well for advertisers, or they are too cumbersome to present in a two-minute segment. Whatever the reason, the mass media seem to avoid unemployment details as they would avoid describing and filming fresh road kill during a dinnertime newscast. While some excellent blogs clearly explain unemployment data, such as Mish’s Economic Trend Analysis, Calculated Risk and Economic Populist, mass media sites are absent.

The unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent for August. Unemployment to the mass media generally centers on that single point within the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly employment report. There is passing mention of discouraged workers and the underemployed, but the true scale of the jobs crisis is given scant attention considering the magnitude of the problem. ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/economy/152401/11_reasons_why_the_unemployment_crisis_is_even_worse_than_you_think/

[dkf]

1. You need manufacturing jobs if you want to employ millions of the less educated.

There is no way around it.

[The2ndWheel]

3. But they increasingly don't need you to have that job to get the job done

[gmee2]

5. The problem is that the manufacturing that is not

leaving the country is automating, which means less workers needed for production. The less educated that cannot run more and more complicated equipment will not make it. The level of dropouts and the quality education specially among minority areas are very disturbing. We as a nation keep avoiding the problems. We either throw money at it or we take away money from education. I, as a Hispanic see the problems in my community, but no one addresses it. There is a major lack of discipline and parental involvement. We cannot continue to turn a blind eye and expect results. We are creating a whole class of permanently unemployed Americans. I don't blame teachers, I blame the parents because discipline begins at home.

[The2ndWheel]

6. Not that you need that many educated people to run the equipment

I'd blame the race that we all seem to be forced to have to run in, even though there looks to be no finish line.

[gmee2]

7. No you don't need that many, however

I see it at my job I am a systems manager and I have people that can barely understand the equipment they are running. They are slowly being replaced by more qualified people. I keep telling everyone that one must upgrade their education if not through schooling through self education, but few do it. In todays economy one has to move forward not sit and coast.

[fasttense]

2. Very good discussion of what the real unemployment numbers are and why.

They are saying there are really 10 people applying for every full-time job opening.

This is very good info.

[chill_wind]

4. Kick and rec. One for the bookmarks, for sure.

The picture has been very distorted. This explains in good detail just how much.