Changes

After reaching a low of 4.1% in October, 2006, the U.S. unemployment rate has been trending upward, reaching 9.5% in June 2009.  It will continue rising for several more months. Unemployment normally peaks a few months ''after'' the economy reached bottom and starts going up again.

After reaching a low of 4.1% in October, 2006, the U.S. unemployment rate has been trending upward, reaching 9.5% in June 2009.  It will continue rising for several more months. Unemployment normally peaks a few months ''after'' the economy reached bottom and starts going up again.

Some people think that to get figures on unemployment the Government uses the number of persons filing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under State or Federal Government programs. But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country. The CPS has been conducted in the United States every month since 1940 when it began as a Work Projects Administration project.<ref>[http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics]</ref>

Weekly estimates of unemployment use the number of persons filing new claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits. Much more accurate data is based on large scale interview surveys, and is reported on the first Friday of the following month. Since 1940 the monthly Current Population Survey (CPS) has been used. <ref>See [http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm Bureau of Labor Statistics]</ref>

 

Three types of unemployment can be distinguished by their causes. '''Frictional''' unemployment is the normal churning of the job market; people enter the labor force from school or home, and spend time looking for the best job. '''Seasonal''' unemployment refers to jobs that operate at certain seasons, especially in the construction and tourism industries. Teachers in the summertime are not counted as unemployed. The '''"normal unemployment rate'''" (frictional plus seasonal) is about 3% to 4%.  '''[[Unemployment insurance]]''' is designed to help people face frictional and seasonal unemployment.

Three types of unemployment can be distinguished by their causes. '''Frictional''' unemployment is the normal churning of the job market; people enter the labor force from school or home, and spend time looking for the best job. '''Seasonal''' unemployment refers to jobs that operate at certain seasons, especially in the construction and tourism industries. Teachers in the summertime are not counted as unemployed. The '''"normal unemployment rate'''" (frictional plus seasonal) is about 3% to 4%.  '''[[Unemployment insurance]]''' is designed to help people face frictional and seasonal unemployment.

Finally--and most serious--is '''cyclic unemployment''' (as in [[Recession of 2008|2008-2009]] and the [[Great Depression]]), when the whole economy is sagging and businesses lay off tens of thousands of workers every day. A few new jobs are created every month but they are overwhelmed by the jobs that are lost.  In February 2009, the U.S. economy lost 651,000 jobs net (that is, jobs that disappeared outnumbered jobs that were created by 641,000). Through April 30, 2009, about 5.7 million jobs were lost in 2008-9.

Finally--and most serious--is '''cyclic unemployment''' (as in [[Recession of 2008|2008-2009]] and the [[Great Depression]]), when the whole economy is sagging and businesses lay off tens of thousands of workers every day. A few new jobs are created every month but they are overwhelmed by the jobs that are lost.  In February 2009, the U.S. economy lost 651,000 jobs net (that is, jobs that disappeared outnumbered jobs that were created by 641,000). Through April 30, 2009, about 5.7 million jobs were lost in 2008-9.

[[File:Un-0409.jpg|thumb|250px|update for April 2009]] [[Image:Job-loss-09.jpg|thumb|250px|US job losses January 1-March 31, 2009]]

[[File:Un-0409.jpg|thumb|250px|update for April 2009]] [[Image:Job-loss-09.jpg|thumb|250px|US job losses January 1-March 31, 2009]]

At election time, unemployment is often portrayed as a great evil, but [[Milton Friedman]] said,

==Natural rate of unemployment==

[[Milton Friedman]] in 1968 itroduced the concept of the "natural rate of unemplyment," which is the rate generated by the economy which does not cause inflation or deflation.

:All of the progress that the US has made over the last couple of centuries has come from unemployment. It has come from figuring out how to produce more goods with fewer workers, thereby releasing labor to be more productive in other areas. It has never come about through permanent unemployment, but temporary unemployment, in the process of shifting people from one area to another. [http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/friedman.php]

:All of the progress that the US has made over the last couple of centuries has come from unemployment. It has come from figuring out how to produce more goods with fewer workers, thereby releasing labor to be more productive in other areas. It has never come about through permanent unemployment, but temporary unemployment, in the process of shifting people from one area to another.<ref> See [http://www.rightwingnews.com/interviews/friedman.php interview]</ref>

==See Also==

==See Also==

* [[Great Depression]]

* [[Great Depression]]

* [[Recession of 2008]]

* [[Recession of 2008]]

* [[Phillips curve]], for Keynesian model

* [[Phillips curve]], for Keynesian model

[[Category:Economics]]

[[Category:Economics]]

[[Category:Obama Administration]]

[[Category:Great Depression]]

==References==

==References==

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