EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

[NDAlum]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

Demand for jobs: low
Supply for jobs: high

Growth = demand

There is no growth and the unemployment rate is about 16%. Don't listen to the media, the rate isn't 9.5%. They do not count those who have given up, which is over 400,000 people.

1/6 people are out of a job! Craziness.

[daflyboys]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

The proliferation of the internet was the worst thing to happen for the worldwide employment market.

The competitive advantage of knowledge is all but gone. You can google just about anything and learn it quickly. Colleges degrees are so diluted that getting a job interview has become winning a resume lottery.

I don't see how this problem ever gets fixed.

I don't buy that for one second. That's more of explaining away what some of the true infiltrating effects that exist. Ask any small business owner.

And this exerpt is today from Yahoo.....

"With a 9.5% jobless rate and some 15 million Americans looking for work, many employers are inundated with applicants. But a surprising number say they are getting an underwhelming response, and many are having trouble filling open positions.
"This is as bad now as at the height of business back in the 1990s," says Dan Cunningham, chief executive of the Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co., a maker of stamped-metal parts in West Chester, Ohio, that has been struggling to hire a few toolmakers. "It's bizarre. We are just not getting applicants."
Employers and economists point to several explanations. Extending jobless benefits to 99 weeks gives the unemployed less incentive to search out new work. Millions of homeowners are unable to move for a job because the real-estate collapse leaves them owing more on their homes than they are worth.
The job market itself also has changed. During the crisis, companies slashed millions of middle-skill, middle-wage jobs. That has created a glut of people who can't qualify for highly skilled jobs but have a hard time adjusting to low-pay, unskilled work like the food servers that Pilot Flying J seeks for its truck stops.
The difficulty finding workers limits the economy's ability to grow. It is particularly troubling at a time when 4.3% of the labor force has been out of work for more than six months—a level much higher than after any other recession since 1948."

And, yes, this discussion can easily get political.... but the bottom line is that no nation ever taxed their way into prosperity. I'm not an economist or business saavy, but it's only common sense that you don't spend money when you don't have money. If your kid, family, neighbor would do it ... you'd call him foolish.

[NDAlum]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

It all starts with the education system. I personally we need education reform. There also needs to be an incentive to work and the process to apply for aid needs to be reformed as well.

We just need to reform the country!

[daflyboys]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

We just need to reform the country!

Ya, it's called reinstituting our basic principles.

[ImTellinTim]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

Someone close this thread before I get myself banned.

[Cusefan]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

It all starts with the education system. I personally we need education reform. There also needs to be an incentive to work and the process to apply for aid needs to be reformed as well.

We just need to reform the country!

This is a pretty good point. Here in the US there is such a push to go to college and so many people do. The problem with this is that there is a shortage of technical workers out there like plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc etc. Those occupations pay pretty well, more than some degrees in college will pay.

High Schools need to start offering more classes for kids that will not go to college. A kid who's dream is to work in the automotive industry has no need for 18th century European literature.

[Polo Bandit]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

I'm on unemployment now and have been since February. I've been working for the Census off and on since March.

I have a phone interview on Friday which is only my fourth interview so far. Gotten several calls from recruiters for contract work but none of them have worked out.

[superjames1992]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

This is a pretty good point. Here in the US there is such a push to go to college and so many people do. The problem with this is that there is a shortage of technical workers out there like plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc etc. Those occupations pay pretty well, more than some degrees in college will pay.

High Schools need to start offering more classes for kids that will not go to college. A kid who's dream is to work in the automotive industry has no need for 18th century European literature.

One side effect of lots of people going to college is that it diminishes the value of a college degree, especially for non-descript degrees like Psychology. When more people possess something, the value inherently drops.

[daflyboys]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

This is a pretty good point. Here in the US there is such a push to go to college and so many people do. The problem with this is that there is a shortage of technical workers out there like plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc etc. Those occupations pay pretty well, more than some degrees in college will pay.

High Schools need to start offering more classes for kids that will not go to college. A kid who's dream is to work in the automotive industry has no need for 18th century European literature.

Ummm... vocational technical college has only been around for decades. But again, this is explaining away from the OP. Building a system whereby people can rely and depend on the government will produce sheep. Less people are looking..... they aren't counted..... fake reduction in unemployment rate.

This is one of my favorite metaphors to explain some of this:

Bar Stool Economics

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that’s what they decided to do. The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve. “Since you are all such good customers, he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20. Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his “fair share?’ They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody’s share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

“I only got a dollar out of the $20?, declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,’ but he got $10!’

“Yeah, that’s right’, exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar, too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more than I!’
“That’s true!!’ shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!’

“Wait a minute,’ yelled the first four men in unison. “We didn’t get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!’

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed.
For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.

David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D.
Professor of Economics, University of Georgia

[Scottdau]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

I had a run of 64 weeks, and I looked and applied for jobs daily. I got 3 interviews during that time. This is with a 4-year degree and 4 1/2 years experience (including managerial experience) in my field. When I finally got a job, I beat out about 30 others. Of course, I wasn't collecting unemployment, so yeah...still trying to catch up. It's harder than you think.

And Cuse, I'm fairly certain you can collect more than that in Minnesota per week. It's a state by state thing. Just looked it up, and in MN, it's $585 max.

What do you for a living?

[USF11]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

I don't buy that for one second. That's more of explaining away what some of the true infiltrating effects that exist. Ask any small business owner.

And this exerpt is today from Yahoo.....

"With a 9.5% jobless rate and some 15 million Americans looking for work, many employers are inundated with applicants. But a surprising number say they are getting an underwhelming response, and many are having trouble filling open positions.
"This is as bad now as at the height of business back in the 1990s," says Dan Cunningham, chief executive of the Long-Stanton Manufacturing Co., a maker of stamped-metal parts in West Chester, Ohio, that has been struggling to hire a few toolmakers. "It's bizarre. We are just not getting applicants."
Employers and economists point to several explanations. Extending jobless benefits to 99 weeks gives the unemployed less incentive to search out new work. Millions of homeowners are unable to move for a job because the real-estate collapse leaves them owing more on their homes than they are worth.
The job market itself also has changed. During the crisis, companies slashed millions of middle-skill, middle-wage jobs. That has created a glut of people who can't qualify for highly skilled jobs but have a hard time adjusting to low-pay, unskilled work like the food servers that Pilot Flying J seeks for its truck stops.
The difficulty finding workers limits the economy's ability to grow. It is particularly troubling at a time when 4.3% of the labor force has been out of work for more than six months—a level much higher than after any other recession since 1948."
.

Certain industries, location and skill-sets are hard to fill.

In the financial industry, CPU programming/developer positions are largely going unfilled.

Those are highly specialized positions though.

[TheMatrix31]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

Heh, I'm sitting here wondering exactly what good my degree from a Top 15 university will do me. These degrees are all worthless, college is horribly overrated and that's a damn shame because it's pounded to us that it means so much.

[JBH3]

Re: EI lasts up to 99 weeks in America ... wow

$40K Paying Jobs Go Vacant, even in this economy...