Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

General Discussion

Showing Original Post only (View all)

ck4829

(34,905 posts)
Sat Sep 8, 2012, 10:52 AM Sep 2012

The problem of unemployment can't be fixed until we are willing to look at the REAL job market [View all]

The common Republican/Tea Party line is that there are plenty of jobs available, but people don't want to take them and that they would rather just stay on unemployment or welfare.

This can be summed up as:
M = N
* M = The job market
* N = All available job openings

You don't have a job? It's because you're not looking hard enough, your demands are too high, you think the jobs that are out there are beneath you, blah, blah, blah. This, by the way, is also known as the 'just-world hypothesis', the same thing that you believe in if you think that a woman who is raped can not get pregnant.

It may look oversimplified, but can you really deny that is what the Tea Party believes in? For the poor, for the lower middle class, for people in debt, the long term unemployed, and for others; the job market is radically different. But this is what the job market is actually like, it is the REAL job market.

It looks something like this:
M = N - (T+O+A+G)
(Space) /C

* M = The job market
* N = All available job openings
And now acting as a detriment, the poor and the long term unemployed have several things acting against them, these are the 'filters'.
* T = Job openings that have transportation issues, jobs that are available that are away from public transport
* O = Employers that use "overqualified" as a way of weeding out applicants. You may be too old or you may be too educated or experienced, but you still need to eat and pay bills. Employers that use this seem to forget that.
* A = The arbitrary filter. From feeling the bumps on your head (Actual historical issue) to looking at your credit or discrimination against gays and other minorities. It may be the free market for employers but it is not a free market for job seekers with this one.
* G = Gaps. Employers who read too much into gaps and tell the unemployed to not even bother applying

If you rely on public transportation, if you are deemed 'overqualified', if you have some arbitrary issues going on, and if you are currently unemployed; your job prospects are not very good. You may know someone personally who is going through. You may even be facing it yourself.

The filters are one detriment though, there is another. That would be C, your competition. As in the other job seekers out there looking for jobs. If there are several times more job applicants than open positions (And there are), then not everyone is going to get a job. There's no other way around it.

When you've got these filters and when you've got this much competition, our country's job market is not going to truly improve. We have to eliminate these filters and hold the competition over as they are looking for jobs, or we can let the Republicans and Tea Party run with their 'just-world hypothesis' and see where that takes us.

20 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
The unemployment rate among college grads is somewhere around 5% Cary Sep 2012 #1
This message was self-deleted by its author AnotherMcIntosh Sep 2012 #4
What we need is to get ourselves out of this liquidity trap Cary Sep 2012 #11
This message was self-deleted by its author AnotherMcIntosh Sep 2012 #13
I hear you but I don't think protectionism is as good as it sounds Cary Sep 2012 #16
This message was self-deleted by its author AnotherMcIntosh Sep 2012 #18
Inevitable. Cary Sep 2012 #20
Excellent analysis Freddie Sep 2012 #2
The Employment-Population Ratio is another measure of economic recovery. It was 63.7 (unadj) or jody Sep 2012 #3
Usually if there are unfilled jobs that don't require specific experience or education Nikia Sep 2012 #5
O is a big factor, especially since so many new jobs are McJobs. Employers assume gkhouston Sep 2012 #7
This doesn't help: Republicans Have Blocked The American Jobs Act For One Year SunsetDreams Sep 2012 #6
The problem of unemployment can't be fixed until the sea-change KG Sep 2012 #8
If fixed costs do not prohibit, production seeks lower labor cost whether textile jobs to overseas jody Sep 2012 #9
+1 moondust Sep 2012 #10
The unemployment problem is much simpler than that, MadHound Sep 2012 #12
You're forgetting something, NashvilleLefty Sep 2012 #14
"stopped offering training"! Then why is govt wasting billions training the work force for specific jody Sep 2012 #15
Maybe the government is doing that because many companies won't do it themselves jp11 Sep 2012 #17
I'd disagree that the real job market is even this simple to look at jp11 Sep 2012 #19
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»The problem of unemployme...