Saturday, October 2, 2010
Look to Europe to Understand Why This US Recovery is Jobless
This article compares the current employment situation within the United States to the conditions faced in Europe of the past 30 years.
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This was a very interesting article that compared employment rate in Western Europe to the United States rate. The graph shows that Western Europe has a massive increase in the employment rate recently, and the US has a drop. But, Europe has been in more of a slump with unemployment for many years, while the US has stayed in 60% of population employed. I don't think changing the government policies (labor markets etc.) to European style would make a drastic change right now in our employment rate.
ReplyDeleteThe article questions whether changing US policies of employment to match those of Europe makes sense presently. The progressives mentioned in this article who envy Europe's employment policies offer suggestions for the US Government to enact. One of which, increasing unemployment insurance, is suppose to act as a safety net for those unemployed. Progressives argue that Europe's safety net for their workforce is part of the reason why they have experienced significant increases in the employment rate recently.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that increasing unemployment insurance will solve the problem for the US. This policy could result in the labor force being less productive because more workers will not be as motivated to find work after being laid off. Strict rules and regulations will be needed to monitor an increase in unemployment insurance.
I agree Tyler. As you said if you increase unemployment insurance it will only make workers less motivated to pursue another job. As Europe has seen better unemployment insurance looks to cause higher unemployment and does not seem like an effective strategy although it is appealing to the workforce.
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