Calculating Unemployment - Essay Sample

Introduction

It is both expensive and impractical to count every unemployed individual every month. Unemployment figures are calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) using a Current Population Survey (CPS). The target sample is usually 60,000 households. Respondents are classified as "unemployed" when they lack a job, are actively looking for one during the 4 weeks prior to participating in the survey, and if they are available to work. This method of calculating unemployment has been criticized as being inaccurate because it excludes underemployment rates .Underemployment calculates how well an economy is using its labor force . A worker is underemployed when they are employed but their job does not make full use of their skills or capabilities. Examples include highly skilled workers stuck in low paying or low skill jobs, and part-time workers . Consequently, even though the official national unemployment rates from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics is an inaccurate picture of the levels of unemployment in the country.

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Current Unemployment Rates

The unemployment in New York has marginally dropped to 3.7% . The District of Columbia has an unemployment rate of 4.7% while Illinois has an unemployment rate of 3.4%. The national unemployment rate is 3.5%. The 20-24 years old demographic is the least employed. Approximately 6.7% of them are unemployed with women in this age demographic having a lower unemployment rate (5.4%) compared to that of men (7.7%). Furthermore, Black men in this age demographic are disproportionately unemployed (13.8%) compared to their White peers (6.5%). Likewise, White women in this age demographic suffer less unemployment rates (4.9%) compared to Black women (9.3%).

Current Unemployment Demographics

For the period between 2010 to 2020, the unemployment rate for men who are 20 years and older has dropped from a high of 9.4% in 2010 to a low of 3.3.% in February 2020. On the other hand, the unemployment rate for women from the same age demographic during the same period of time has fallen from 8.0% in 2010 to 3.1.% in February 2020.

Unemployment Rates Subject to Levels of Education

In a post-industrial society, technology, information, and services are more important than manufacturing actual goods. Data from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reveals that America is currently in the post-industrial stage. While the unemployment rates for university graduates is 1.9%, people with no high school diploma have an unemployment rate of 5.7%.

Furthermore, over a period of 25 years, America's blue-collar workforce has dropped from 26 % to 15% as of the year 2019. This information is illustrated below.

The transition of American society into the post-Industrial stage has meant that specific demographics in its labor force that could access blue-collar work are disproportionately impacted by unemployment. The 20-24 years old demographic is the least employed. Approximately 6.7% of them are unemployed with Black men in this age bracket disproportionately unemployed (13.8%) compared to their White peers (6.5%). Likewise, White women in this age demographic suffer fewer unemployment rates (4.9%) compared to Black women (9.3%).

Labor Force Statistics

According to BLS data released in February, the gross number of non-farm payroll workers rose by 273,000 in the month of February 2020 even as the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.5 %. These job gains happened in health care , social work, fast food, government, construction, professional work, technical services, and financial sectors of the economy. The average hourly earnings for individuals on private non-farm payrolls is at 28.52 dollars an hour while the median hourly earnings rate for private-sector production and non-supervisory workers rose to $23.96 per hour.