Unemployment Fallout

Over the past couple months, worries about the US unemployment rate hitting 10% frightens politicians and the public, as it would not only be the highest percentage of Americans out of work in years, but the double-digit figure would also be a psychological milestone of how real our declining prosperity and economic hope is. Despite concerns, the unemployment percentage dropped in July from 9.5% to 9.4%, suggesting that unemployment was on the decline and a bottoming out of the recession. However this notion is inaccurate. Unemployment figures only account for those who are jobless and seeking employment, so the 800,000+ unemployed Americans who have given up looking or are on some form of government assistance are not included in the equation. If that population of discouraged workers were included, real US unemployment would be around 16%. When it comes to economic distress though, we are far from alone.

The UK is also having significant struggles in creating and sustaining job opportunities. Across the Atlantic, approximately 2 million children live in homes with no income-earning parents, rounding out to about 1 out of every 6 kids in the country. That's the equivalent of sitting down in class next week and having four of our peers whose families aren't making any money to support themselves. Currently in the UK, 17% of households are unemployed.

The aftermath of the global financial meltdown is still being felt in force, as the new figures for joblessness have settled around 4.8 million people. The most shocking of all statistics though, is that 40.4% of all single-parents are now out of work. Thats a mind boggling figure. John Atkinson of the Institute for Employment Studies, said that, "Eighteen months ago, worklessness was in decline. Government programmes encouraging lone parents and the long-term sick back into employment were a part of that success story. Today we can see that the recession is unravelling much of that progress."

The short term effects of unemployment on the 2 million children in question are saddening, but the longer term effects rise real concerns for the UK, and in analogous situations in countries throughout the world. The United Kingdom is hitting its highest dropout rates in 30 years, with less of the under 16 population attending school and less of the 16-21 population holding employment or receiving vocational training. Crime rates will surely increase, as the country's youngest generation is now being faced with increasing poverty and bleak opportunities for legitimate sources of income. With the increased secondary education drop out rates, this generation of UK citizens will be less formally skilled and have less diplomas than their parents and grandparents, opening up a possible regression in the UK's ability to compete in the international market.

Something else that is really troubling, is how countries far less economically affluent in comparison to the US, the world's biggest economy, and the UK, the world's 6th biggest economy, are coping with the ripple effect. The countries and regions that were already barely hanging on before the economic collapse that originated out of the US in September of last year. Places in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia, (ironically, much of which was colonized by the UK) where 16% unemployment would be incredibly desirable. People around the world have lived in far worse conditions than the recently unemployed of the world's most successful countries, but now when poverty starts to frighten us and is within striking distance of us, thats when we begin to care about it. And even then, the care is only for self. Being unemployed would suck but it could always be worse.