ECON312N Week 5 Discussion Latest 2019 September
ECON312N
Principles of Economics
Week 5
Discussion
Unemployment and
Skills Mismatch
Required Resources
Read/review the
following resources for this activity:
Textbook: Chapter 14,
15
Lesson
Introduction
In the last few years,
there has been a debate about the main causes of the high rates of unemployment
during the Great Recession (2008-2009). One line of argument is that there is a
misalignment between the skill-sets required by employers and the skill-sets of
job seekers, which continues to keep millions of Americans out of the job
market. In an article published in MIT Technical Review Business Report,
Majcher (2014) reported that “employers have 300,000 unfilled manufacturing
jobs” which she attributes to the lack of the required skills needed in the manufacturing
sector (para. 1).
Since 2010, there has
been a steady decrease in the unemployment rate. In fact, in its April 2018
Hiring and Unemployment report, the Labor Department presented the unemployment
rate as 3.9%. Despite this low rate of unemployment, there is still a significantly
large number of people who cannot find jobs. In a research conducted by
LiveCareer, it was reported that “companies claim they cannot find workers with
the right skill sets, while workers complain that their existing skills are
becoming obsolete due to technological change and automation of various job
functions. Less skilled workers simply are not fit for many jobs in the digital
age.” (LiveCareer, 2018, para. 1). The lack of well-trained and skilled
workers, some worry, may have adverse consequences on the performance of the
U.S economy as the economy grows and the productivity of labor becomes
increasingly crucial in sustaining the growth. As pointed out in their 2017
report, the Business Roundtable – an association of chief executive officers of
America’s leading companies – surveyed its members and reported that “as
America continues to recover from the worst economic recession since 1930, our
economic growth is hindered because the skills of today’s workers have not kept
up with requirements of current and future jobs” (p. 1). This state of affairs,
the report argues, is caused by the fact that “the working-age population is
growing at half the rate of the past century; labor force participation is
holding steadily below that of the past three decades and baby boomers are
retiring in record numbers” (p. 1). The report went on to state that “no amount
of automation or technological innovation can overcome these headwinds if our
nation does not take action to ensure that our labor force holds the skills
needed for today’s jobs and for the future” (p. 1).
Initial Post
Instructions
For the initial post,
address the following:
What educational and
job training policy proposals would you like to see implemented to help resolve
the apparent skills-mismatch in the U.S labor market?
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