Causes and Effects of the U.S. Unemployment Research Paper

Causes and Effects of the U.S. Unemployment - Research Paper Example Simply put, it is the lack of a job. Let’s consider different types of unemployment prevailing in the United States. Frictional unemployment is one of the most common forms in any job market whereby transitions in the job market make people jobless only temporarily. For instance, a person who has not started his/her new job after resigning from his previous job is experiencing frictional unemployment. Another form is the structural unemployment in which case the job market usually does not have enough capacity to absorb qualified people in a given field who have undergone training. For instance, the emergence of the web-based economy saw the enrolment of many people for the course across the United States, making it hard for them to find jobs in the field upon graduation, since there was already a surplus of qualified people in the field (Milan 37). This type is also common in economies experiencing slow or negative growth rates in certain fields. Cyclical unemployment refers to the changes in employment patterns that relate to the cyclical changes in a given economy characterised by highs and ups. Recessions and economic booms are the factors upon which this type is defined. During the recession periods, the market is not capable of providing employment for many employees in a given sector, hence, making them be unemployed until the economy rebounds. There is the newly introduced type known as technological unemployment in which the introduction of new automated and computerised systems lead to layoffs and lack of job openings in previously employing industries of firms. The last category is the seasonal employment, which refers to a situation whereby rates of unemployment vary according to the yearly seasons, with some having many job opportunities while others hardly having any. Another example of this type is represented by the tourism sectors in many countries where the frequency of tourists changes with seasons, with drier seasons having high rates of employment while the winter leads in unemployment rates (Markus 87). Causes of unemployment There are many reasons the economic and social development experts, as well as politicians, point to as the causes of unemployment in the United States of America. The first is the country’s population, which is projected to be a factor on an upward trend. Analysts say it has led to a higher ratio of unemployment among the citizens. The argument is that jobs have remained relatively the same due to mechanization and computerization of many production systems while the population rises. There is severe competition on indigenous companies from foreign companies, which have cheap labour in their home countries hence being able to produce cheaply and consequently leading to lower pricing of goods. This has resulted in the closure of several companies across the country with the obvious effect of leaving their employees jobless. Many companies are embracing the practice of flattening th eir structures to facilitate smooth operation of business, in contrast to the tall company structures. Others have introduced software that can carry out several tasks at once, taking the place of several persons at once. Outsourcing of cheap labour from other parts of the world is also a common occurrence among