Introduction
Unemployment is a macroeconomic aspect that has a direct impact on the general public (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics para. 2-7). In the US, there have been different trends in the economic sector different rates of unemployment. Generally, the understanding of unemployment in the macroeconomic context is vital both for consumers and economists. This paper, therefore, explores the aspect of unemployment in the United States in the context of macroeconomics.
Statistics
In March 2014, job openings increased by about 4.0 million showing no much change from the statistics in February of the same year. In March, there were no changes in terms of rates of hiring, which stood at about 3.5 percent. Similarly, the rate of separation stood at about 3.3 percent showing no significant changes (Kurtz para. 3-6). Likewise, the rate of those who quit their jobs for one reason or the other (about 2 percent) remained constant in March, but the rate of the discharge from duties reduced by about 1.0 percent.
In the first four months of 2014, the rate of unemployment in the United States dropped to about 6.2 percent from 6.8 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics para. 4-7). This was the lowest rate of unemployment recorded in the US since the last quarter of 2008. Those rendered jobless as well new workers gained entry into the labor force (Izzo para. 1-3). The number of people who previously were unemployed stood at about 10 million, but at the turn of 2014, the number decreased by about 730,000 to reach about 9.3 million people.
Overall, from the last year 2013, the rate of unemployment in the United States reduced by about 1.3 percent, and the number of the unemployed dropped by about 1.8 million (Carmichael para. 3-6). Amongst the major groups of workers, the rate of unemployment dropped in March and April this year. Specifically, for grown-up women, it dropped to about 5.6 percent, for adult men, it fell to about 5.7 percent and for teenagers, it reduced to about 19.0 percent (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics para. 2-4).
In terms of race, for whites and Latinos, it dropped to about 5.2 percent and 7.0 percent relatively and for African Americans, it feels to about 11.5 percent. For the Asians, the rate of unemployment remained at about 5.8 percent. Moreover, the number of people who lost their jobs for one reason or the other also dropped by about 250,000. Previously, this number stood at about 5.3 million (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics para. 3-4).
In addition, the number of those people who are employed on a long-term basis also dropped by about 280,000 in the early months of 2014. Previously, the number of people who were employed in the long term was about 3.4 million. Overall, these people accounted for about 30 percent of the entire unemployed population (Izzo para. 3-5). For the last year, the number of people who were unemployed on a long-term basis also dropped by about 900,000. In the month of April 2014, the civilian labor force reduced by about 800, 000 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics para. 4-5).
In addition, in the month of April, the rate at which the labor force participated, which previously stood at about 62 percent, dropped to about 61.6 percent (Izzo para. 3-4). The bottom line is that the rate of participation amongst workers has not recorded any significant change since the last year 2013. In terms of productivity, in the first quarter of 2014, unit labor costs increased by about 4.0 percent leading to a drop in productivity level by about 2.0 percent. All this was in the other sectors but not in the agricultural sector. Specifically, in the manufacturing sector, productivity grew by about 3.0 percent with an increase of about 0.2 percent in labor costs (Izzo para. 3-4).
Reasons
In general, the health care sector added about 32,000 jobs, the retail sector added about 23, 700 jobs, the construction industry added more than 48,000 jobs, and the mining sector added about 5,000 jobs (Izzo para. 2-5). In addition, the transportation sector added about 1,300 jobs, leisure & hospitality added about 24,000 jobs and manufacturing added about 14,000 jobs, film industry added 21,000 jobs and the wholesale sector added about 30,000 jobs. This is also attributed to the establishment of a good environment for investment by the US government (Kurtz para. 3-6). In specific sectors, such as construction, the federal government announced an increase in funding for major projects, such as schools, roads, and even repair of airports, that is why the number of jobs increased (Carmichael para. 7-10).
In the manufacturing sector, the bailout by the government helped put major employers on track hence many jobs were created (Kurtz para. 5-6). Overall, out of the millions of jobs lost as a result of the 2008 financial crisis, the United States had only managed to put about two-thirds of people who lost their jobs back to work. In addition, the number of those who are out of work has remained high majorly because the population of the United States has also been increasing.
Works Cited
Carmichael, Kevin. U.S. Unemployment Rate Drops To 6.3 Percent, Lowest in more than Five Years. 2014. Web.
Izzo, Phil. Unemployment Rate Drops for Wrong Reasons. 2014. Web.
Kurtz, Annalyn. Unemployment rate falls to lowest level since 2008. 2013. Web.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary. 2014. Web.