What is the American crisis, with unemployment. Jobenomics can be explained as economics mainly concerned with job, wealth and revenue creation. This is the main focus of Chuck Vollmers’ book, Jobenomics, a plan for America. The book informs us that the only meaningful way of fixing American economy is creating job opportunities and creating revenue.
20 Million New Jobs
Chuck explains that the US economy cannot afford to have another decade of negative or slightly positive increase in jobs. A minimum of 20 million new private sector jobs needs to be created by 2020. America produced this number of jobs in the past decades and can do it again. The book informs us that 20 million is the minimum number of jobs to be created, since it will provide jobs for the 16 million new workers entering the work force this decade and about 4 million workers who lost their jobs during the recession. Chuck writes that employment emphasis must be on the private sector, rather than the government in order to achieve a viable economic recovery.
The Unemployment Rates versus Employment Rates
America has a widely known “official unemployment rate” statistics that can measure failure while there is no “official employment” rate statistic that measures the health of the labour force. Economic recovery will depend on jobs created, as opposed to jobs lost.
Unemployment Rate Numbers
The official US unemployment rate number (U3) is the most widely reported number in the media today, the U3 number drives public policy and private spending. Chuck informs us that currently, 15 million, of a civilian labour force of 154 million Americans, are officially out of work. This equates to 9.7% U3 rate as of May 2010. The unemployment rate (U3) has grown rapidly since the start of the economic crisis and is at the highest rate since the 1982 recession.
The Unemployment rates (U3) for different groups are: adult men (10.8%), adult women (8.4%), teenagers above age sixteen (26.4%), Whites (8.7%), Asians (7.3%), Hispanics (12.6%) and Blacks (16.5%)
U6 Unemployment Rate
U6 consist of: U3 (official unemployment rate), discouraged workers, marginally attached workers and the people unemployed part time for economic reasons.
Marginally attached workers are people who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job. They have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers have reasons related to the job market for not currently looking for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full time work, but have to settle for a part time job.
The U6 rate can be more indicative than the U3 for economic health and recovery perspective and should be utilized more by media, opinion leaders and policy makers. Additional consideration should be given to welfare recipients who have permanently given up on job seeking.
Chuck explains more on the American crisis pertainint to employment and unemployment rates in the first chapter of his book, Jobenomics, a plan for America.