Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Cyclical vs Structural Unemployment, Part II
Some employers complain of difficulties in filling open positions despite large pool of unemployed workers.
Cyclical vs. Structural Unemployment, Part I
Some parts of the US are in fact experiencing a boom (with worker shortages):
Education and Financial Security
The Schumpeter Column from The Economist makes the following interesting point:
"... the demand for educated labour is being reconfigured by technology, in much the same way that the demand for agricultural labour was reconfigured in the 19th century and that for factory labour in the 20th. Computers can not only perform repetitive mental tasks much faster than human beings. They can also empower amateurs to do what professionals once did: why hire a flesh-and-blood accountant to complete your tax return when Turbotax (a software package) will do the job at a fraction of the cost? And the variety of jobs that computers can do is multiplying as programmers teach them to deal with tone and linguistic ambiguity.
"... the demand for educated labour is being reconfigured by technology, in much the same way that the demand for agricultural labour was reconfigured in the 19th century and that for factory labour in the 20th. Computers can not only perform repetitive mental tasks much faster than human beings. They can also empower amateurs to do what professionals once did: why hire a flesh-and-blood accountant to complete your tax return when Turbotax (a software package) will do the job at a fraction of the cost? And the variety of jobs that computers can do is multiplying as programmers teach them to deal with tone and linguistic ambiguity.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Government versus Markets
Nobel Prize winning Economist Gary Becker examines the Government vs. Market debate in the context of the Great Recession. His conclusion:
"Government regulations and laws are obviously essential to any well-functioning economy. Still, when the performance of markets is compared systematically to government alternatives, markets usually come out looking pretty darn good."
Meanwhile, David Brooks of NYTIMES has an interesting piece on areas where government may have a role to play.
"Government regulations and laws are obviously essential to any well-functioning economy. Still, when the performance of markets is compared systematically to government alternatives, markets usually come out looking pretty darn good."
Meanwhile, David Brooks of NYTIMES has an interesting piece on areas where government may have a role to play.
August Labor Market Update
US Unemployment Rate – August 2011: 9.1 %
Non-Farm Payrolls: Unchanged
Labor Force Participation Rate: 64%
Employment Ratio: 58.2%
Broader Unemployment (U-6): 16.2%
Long-Term Unemployed: Long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) accounted for 42.9 percent of the unemployed.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Economic Updates
Global Manufacturing Activity - Cool Graphic
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/09/01/world-wide-factory-activity-by-country-17/tab/interactive/
US Economic Update
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-01/u-s-manufacturing-index-shows-expansion-is-continuing-defying-forecasts.html
Growing World Middle Class
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/middle-class
Mexico's Economic Rebound
http://www.economist.com/node/21526899
Brazil's Surprise Rate Cut
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14743866
The Freelance Economy
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/the-freelance-surge-is-the-industrial-revolution-of-our-time/244229/
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2011/09/01/world-wide-factory-activity-by-country-17/tab/interactive/
US Economic Update
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-01/u-s-manufacturing-index-shows-expansion-is-continuing-defying-forecasts.html
Growing World Middle Class
http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/09/middle-class
Mexico's Economic Rebound
http://www.economist.com/node/21526899
Brazil's Surprise Rate Cut
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14743866
The Freelance Economy
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/the-freelance-surge-is-the-industrial-revolution-of-our-time/244229/
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