Your opinion on unemployment

I am in work, but occassionally I look through the job section, just to see what is available. I agree that there are a lot of jobs currently available, but, in the same breath there are also a lot of unemployed people all looking for and applying for each and every vacancy.

Many employers will take the highest qualified candidates, in the belief that their work ethics will be reliable. Many unemployed people do not have qualifications, nor work experience, though still have motivation, do not really stand a chance'

I think it will be wrong to tar all unemployed people with the same brush, many of them are in a catch 22 position. They are in receipt of benefits that far exceed the income they could receive by taking a full time job.

Its not that they don;t want to work, its that they cant afford to go to work and still survive, even at breadline levels. Of course there are exceptions, as with everything, but generally this is my opinion.

I don't believe it is fair to say unemployed people are not willing to work hard. I have a job, but I have been aggressively searching for a different job for about 6 months. I have not had one single interview yet. If I already have a job (that is supposed to give me an advantage), have a degree, and years of work experience, and not even one single person has called me in for an interview, I can imagine it is extremely difficult for someone unemployed to find anything at all.

I do think it would help some folks who are unemployed if they worked part-time somewhere... anywhere at all... while looking for work. You are allowed to work part-time while on unemployment in the state of Maryland, so I would assume that rule would apply in other states. It looks good on a resume if you stay busy doing something. I know someone may not want to work a seasonal position at a store, but it would give them some extra money and show potential employers they are working as hard as possible. However, I am sure there are some areas where even getting a part-time at McDonald's is probably impossible in this economy. It is really tough out there and I don't judge anyone that can't find a job right now.

I am in agreement with Hawkes answer above that many folks are in a catch 22 position.

Part of the jobs problem is that there are now more low paying service jobs and not as many high paying manufacturing jobs. When people can only find minimum wage jobs, it almost becomes more logical to stay on unemployment, because they are getting more money that way. Once the unemployment benefits run out, then they finally face the sad fact that they are going to have to try to get by with a minimum wage job.

I think plenty of people are willing to work and wish they could find a good job. But the work environment has shifted in the past few years as we are moving from manufacturing being the source of many jobs and we are now seeing service and retail being the source of more jobs.

My comment on the unemployment situation would be to say. Rubbish! The excuse that people are not willing to do jobs that they feel are beneath them and will not work, is at worst an excuse to let immigrants come in and work cheaply, and at best only accurate for a small minority of social security abusers.
It is extremely easy to get out of the habit of getting up and keeping momentum going once out of a job. I have never had that privilege, as I have either worked or chased after children and looked after my husband whilst he works.

I was laid off a year ago after having had a near perfect annual review from my supervisor, the company CFO, two weeks prior. I had a demanding job that I handled well. I held the job for 13-years. It was not my work ethic, but the fact that business was so bad the company could no longer afford to keep many of its employees. They initiated "workshare" before they, eventually, had to cut their payroll costs to keep the doors open.

I believe the way that business is done today is dramatically different than in the past. Automation technology, as seen in robotics, and IT tech now has reduced the number of people necessary to perform tasks. Many warehouses now perform lifting and computer aided design with robots. The demand for competent, well educated workers now, is mainly in IT personnel, to keep the robotics performing at peak capacity. When I was laid off, the company went to an automated telephone system that did not require any human interaction. The rest of my many tasks, including all typing and composition, dictaphone, incoming and outgoing mail, data entry and door access control was split amongst the remaining staff.

I believe that many of the positions, formerly held by human workers, no longer exist. Jobs like mine have gone the way of the dinosaur. The future will require the skills of those proficient in computer-aided design and robotics. I believe this direction of business is seen as cost-effective and will be the way of the future on a worldwide basis. The statement I have heard economists repeatedly say is that workers at 50-years old and beyond may never work again. It is a valid assessment that may well be true, as computer technology requires extensive training that many older workers may not have a desire to invest into so close to retirement.

This answer was edited by AmyBecherer 190 days ago.

Reason: typo

Thanks. Thanks everybody - I can only reward one.