Things are going from bad to worse for the unemployed in the United States with no end in sight. If you have a job, you are fortunate. Finding yourself laid off or terminated is no place to be today with the unemployment rate at 9.1 % and rising.
For years, people who lost their jobs were sympathetic creatures, victims of the failing economy. But not any more, America’s sympathy for the unemployed is showing signs of wear, especially for the long-term unemployed.
Several years ago I lost my job of 20 years along with several other long-term workers. Our positions were divided up among younger new workers who were paid half our salary. Fortunately, I got another job right a way as did all my colleagues.
However, that’s not what is happening today. There are more and more unemployed due to the failing economy, and fewer and fewer available jobs. In fact 44% of unemployed workers have been without work for 27 weeks or more.
The figures are depressing. There was zero job growth in August 2011. Today 14.6 million people are officially jobless. 5.9 million have stopped looking for work, and 8.5 million work part time but want full time jobs. The future looks bleak, especially for the long-term unemployed.
There is a stigma against the long-term unemployed. Many companies won’t hire them. They figure their skills have eroded or they don’t measure up. If they were laid off early in the recession, they were probably less competent. Several companies have policies not to hire applicants who have been out of work for 6 months or more.
An already employed applicant applying for a job may be considered a “catch.” His skills are up-to-date and he may be working for a competitor. If you are an older unemployed worker, (over 50) this is who you are competing against.
The jobless also face hostility from conservative lawmakers. More states are cutting jobless benefits, making them more difficult to get and easier to lose. South Carolina cut benefits from 26 weeks to 20.
Republican state Senator Kevin Bryant said, “Part of the unemployment problem is that our human nature is to take advantage of the ability to get paid not to work. I’m sympathetic to those desperately looking for work, but I’m disappointed that we have a significant segment of our society leaching off the system.”
Senator Orin Hatch, R-Utah even proposed drug tests for those applying for welfare and jobless benefits. He thinks the long-term unemployed are society’s new “welfare queens”.
Few people choose to remain jobless. Long-term unemployment wreaks havoc on the jobless. They feel hopeless and have lost their identity. They feel worthless and invisible. They lose their homes, cars, and often their families. They get depressed and they get sick. They have no health insurance and become a burden to emergency rooms, shelters and law enforcement.
Who would want to live on half their income or less, without health insurance? But the jobless still can contribute to the economy. Jobless benefits are taxed and those receiving compensation will still buy food and clothing.
The reality is that the long-term unemployed are victims of an economy that just doesn’t have the jobs. There is a new bill in congress, The Fair Employment Opportunity Act which prohibits the exclusion of the long time unemployed seeking work.
Americans who worked hard, paid taxes, played by the rules and lost a job through no fault of their own are still valuable workers. They deserve a fair chance to be considered for any available job, no matter how long they have been unemployed.
Congress spends millions to bail out Wall Street Bankers who pay their executives huge bonuses while doing nothing to create jobs for the average citizen. Congress also finances an unwinnable war that goes on and on, but they cannot create job opportunities for those eager to work.
Both Democrats and Republicans squabble and fiddle while the unemployed burn. The middle class is the new poor. The American dream is gone. Heaven help us all.
Sources:
St. Pete Times
MSNBC News
http://azguy.hubpages.com/hub/99ers-Economics-The-Plight-of-Americas-Long-Term-Unemployed