Technology vs. Labor

                                                              By: Penelope Roussetzki

    

       One of the most talked about topics during this election has been, unemployment and how the candidates foresee the future relating this problem. People were concerned on how the candidates formulate plans for job creation. The unemployment rate seems to be improving but very slowly. As technology moves faster each day, jobs continue to become outsourced. Technology has effectively improved the quality of production, yet impacting technology in the labor force. In fact, more companies need fewer workers to facilitate manufacturing companies because the sophisticated machine has made it possible to seamlessly assemble its production.

        Job creation continues to improve to bring unemployment to a lower percentage compared to 2009 when the recession hit. In a recent Time magazine article jobs are being created to bring unemployment down a few notches, wages are still totally stagnant. The percentage of the unemployment rate has to be significantly lower than the current 7% in order to see dramatic changes in wage boost. The way to get the economy going is to consume, though we haven’t seen changes in consumer demand.

     Tying in the advances in technology with prolonged consumerism is what continues to weaken the economy. We have seen labor replacement with technology but this is something that we have little to no control over. These changes may be drastic and there will come a point where adjustments will be made. In a college express article they articulates how technology develops, career options will appear in some cases, entirely new occupations and jobs that already exist today will be preformed in a new way. As the labor force continues to adjust to the changes labor will be reinvented and more people will develop new skills that will be demanding and necessary.

        Cloud computing has become the next innovative way to facilitate business strategies. Forbes article on cloud computing has explained how “the result of the shift to cloud, there is growing demand for professionals and managers that are more focused on business development than they are in application development.” This is an example of what technology is being used to incorporate future jobs.

       In conclusion, the perditions of future technology changing the path of economic growth and labor modifications will become challenging, but the awareness is implanted by placing together the adjustments. Obama with continue to improve the labor force and as part of his plan he states “ no games, no politics and no delays”. Labor will have its changes and predictions continue to formulate the idea that the machine will replace labor as they continue to better them. This is something to be aware of in the coming years and it is up to us to adjust to the changes.

Works Cited:

-Foroohar, Rana. "More Jobs Less Pay" Time 22 Oct. 2012: 23. Print

Mumbai. "EMC to train 30,000 in Cloud Computing Data Science" Daily News, November 8, 2012.    Web. <http://india.nydailynews.com/business/cff7396589d78b751b7e224f947768da/emc-to-train-30000-in-cloud-computing-data-science>.

Rafter, Michelle.  "Going, Going, Gone: Jobs that Technology is Leaving Behind." NBC News, November 7, 2012. Web. "http://csbj.com/2012/11/09/automation-gives-jobs-but-also-takes-them-away/>.

Rowh, Mark "Technology that's Changing the Future" Fobes.Web.<http://www.collegexpress.com/interests/science-and-engineering/articles/careers-science-engineering/technology-s-changing-future/>.

Unemployment Report: The Results Are In

By: Anna Spivak

As we enter the final, faithful days of the 2012 election, the promise of a hopeful future hangs on the minds of many Americans. With the Bureau of Labor’s release of the final unemployment report on Friday, November 2^nd, the closing battles have begun; A chance for both candidates to tie up loose ends and prepare for an encounter with voters who have experienced the highest unemployment rate of any incumbent since Franklin Roosevelt (Associated Press, 2012).

According to CNBC, among other numerous sources, President Obama is discussing “progress,” in regards to unemployment. Although we are not there yet, his camp maintains, there has been progress. With the realization of this very slow moving development, Obama tells a campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, “We know we've got lots to do.”

Governor Romney has said that the final report is a concrete reminder of the halt our economy has experienced; an important point he will surely present in his closing case on the topic of unemployment and the policies implemented by President Obama.

Both candidates have an opportunity to use these statistics in their closing arguments. Terminally, they read as follows: An increase in the unemployment rate for African Americans is up to 14.3 percent, long term unemployed (27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.0 million, Civilian labor force grew by 578,000 to 155.6 million, Labor Force Participation rate edged up to 63.8 percent, and total employment rose by 410,000 (Atkinson, 2012). Public data extracted from the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics maintains that the unemployment rate in the United States currently rests at 7.9 percent.

It will be interesting to see how this unemployment report and its reaction will play out in the election. As stated by Bert Atkinson of the Independent Journal Review, the Obama administration will be sure to mention the addition of 171,000 new jobs to the work force while Governor Romney’s campaign will report on how weak the recovery has been along with how the unemployment rate is still not where it should be.

With many other issues at the forefront of the Election, along with Hurricane Sandy devastating a record amount of business and their employees, the issue of unemployment has taken what seems to be a backseat. However, to some undecided voters, a candidate’s stance on this particular topic might make all the difference. When looking at the record amount of young voters that participated in the previous election, it seems obvious that the candidates should turn some of their appeal toward them.  Creating new jobs and feeding the work force that so many of us depend on is crucial during this time.

In hopes of a bright and prosperous outcome for the unemployed after the election, the issue might not lay so much in the hands of the President, but in the citizens themselves. To thrive and do well in this country, it takes a vast amount of hard work and dedication put forth by the individual. Whoever is elected will hopefully do their best to aid the unemployed population, while the unemployed population should do as much as they can to help themselves.  

Works Cited

Atkinson, Bert. "Final Jobs Report Before Election Released." Independent Journal Review. N.p., November 2 2012. Web. <http://www.ijreview.com/2012/11/21138-breaking-final-jobs-report-before-election-released/>.

. "Unemployment Report: Final Fodder for Election." CNBC. Associated Press, November 2 2012. Web. <http://www.cnbc.com/id/49657340>.

. "Bureau of Labor Statistics." United States Department of Labor. N.p., November 02 2012. Web. <http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000>.

Obama First President Since FDR Re-Elected With 7.9% Joblessness

      President Obama won his bid for re-election despite the high unemployment rate that has plagued his administration. His win was surprising because no other candidate has won re-election with such high rates of unemployment

since FDR. It shows that voters have confidence in the President’s slow and steady approach to fixing the economy. This boost may be due to the

unemployment rate dipping slightly below 8% in September (7.8%) and October(7.9%), after years of stagnation at around the 8% range. President

Obama was also able to secure the votes of Ohio a crucial swing state, because of the financial bailout of the automotive industry his administration approved. In Ohio 1in 8 people are employed by the automotive industry and this drove the Presidents approval rates high enough to win the state. Many voters also seem to agree with the President’s approach to dealing

with the “Fiscal Cliff” and tax increases Obama hopes to implement when

the current tax rates expire. Lastly many voters according to this article seem

to blame George W. Bush for the current economic situation and Obama

simply inherited all these problems, which he now has the opportunity fix.

Romney/Reagan

 Things are better than expected, the rise for employment and economic stability continues to improve. Though, the surveys on unemployment were conducted before the storm Sandy. There are estimates that this storm could shave off 50 billion dollars of the GDP. “Generally, the report shows that things are better than we’d expected and certainly better than we’d thought a few months ago,” said Paul Dales, senior United States economist for Capital Economics. “But we’re still not making enough progress to bring that unemployment rate down significantly and rapidly.” Again, President Obama might have an upper hand, which could add more votes in his power. These economic gains are still inching in under Obama's presidency, could give him some lead. Romney on the other hand is confident that there will be major economic growth, if elected president. “Today’s increase in the unemployment rate is a sad reminder that the economy is at a virtual standstill,” he said. Not sure if Romney is convinced about the slight unemployment change, he might think its not doing well enough at this rate. Frankly, his plan is unclear but in broad strokes it appears to be a classic top down republican approach. Some have compared these views and economic strategy to those of Ronald Reagan. Romney is an admirer and inspired by Reagan. Reagan was famous for saying "In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem." A major part of Romney's platform is to reduce the size of government and reduce the federal government's regulation of the private sector. This is the cornerstone of his pro-business economic strategy and it is very Reagannesc.

FINAL JOBS REPORT STATISTICS

Latest unemployment statistics before the election, provided by the Bureau of Labor:

 Unemployment rate for blacks increased to 14.3 percent.

 Long term unemployed (27 weeks or more) was little changed at 5.0 million (40.6 percent of the unemployed.

 

Civilian labor force grew by 578,000 to 1555.6 million.

Labor for participation rate edged up to 63.8 percent.

Total employment rose by 410,000.

FULL ARTICLE: FINAL JOBS REPORT 

The Unemployment Battle

--> By Jonathan Edelstien

We see that the presidential election is coming up with both candidates standing off on who will be the  “victor” as President.  Although most issues such as immigration and foreign policy is conflicted in our country, unemployment in the United States is a large issue due to the fact that it correlates to our countries economy and it is on the minds of a lot of citizens in this nation.  There will be certain problems of unemployment that each candidate will need to solve.

Our President, Barack Obama, explain how he will tackle this situation of unemployment in our country.  The Obama Plan, which is an attempt to restore our unemployment problem, is explained that there will be an investment in education, small businesses, clean energy, infrastructure, and tax cuts for companies that bring jobs back to the U.S.  This will create a more economic opportunity for the businesses created in by the citizens of the U.S.
 

As the months passed an October came by, a series of debate from the vice president and the president came on.  People were tuning in to what the candidates are saying and wondering on how they were to compact with the issues that worry them.  At this moment in time, news about the unemployment rate came on mentioning that the unemployment rate had dropped to a whole 7.80% just in a short time before the presidential elections. 

As Obama had the upper hand in the situation, Mitt Romney still needed to try to keep a “fair game” about how he will deal with unemployment if he gets elected for president.  Ignoring the fact that jobs rose in, Mitt Romney planned to create 250,000 jobs per month.  He is mostly concerned with the middle-class, decreasing in the United States demographic, because the middle-class is able to create a majority of the employment rate and as middle-class shrinks so does the rate of jobs in this country.

In conclusion, both candidates give a fair share and a hard choice to the American people of who they want to vote for.  Both of our candidates are helpful with the fact with dealing with unemployment rate.  Although, this is true, we still need to see on how the next President would be able to confront our problem and to see whether he will destroy or rebuild employment rate in the United States.

References

Rugabe C. (October 2012) Unemployment Rate rises to 8.3% As a U.S. Adds 163,000 Jobs in July:BLS http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/03/unemployment-rate-jobs-report-bls_n_1736843.html

Is The Lower Unemployment Rate Fact or Fiction

     By: Candice Rosario

         For the first time since President Obama took office, the unemployment rate is below 8.00%. Mitt Romney argues that the rate has only gone down, due to the way it is calculated. According to an online     Fox news article by Chris Liable (2012) Romney places unemployment rates at above 11%. President Obama sees the lower unemployment rate as a sign of slow and steady progress. The candidates have different views on the reasons behind the decreased rate of unemployment. What could be viewed as the most accurate explanation?                                                                


Mitt Romney’s explanation of the lower unemployment rate lies in his argument of how unemployment is calculated. He specifically calls into account “The Labor Force Participation Rate”. The answer to the question of “What is the Labor Force Participation Rate?” I found at About.com written by Mike Moffat (2012) : “The labor force participation rate is the percentage of working-age persons in an economy who:
So what is in fact the truth in regards to the lower unemployment rate?  As far as month to month progress of the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate for the year 2012 the actual numbers from August to September where 63.5 and 63.6. What this means is the number of people actively working or looking for work was actually up by .1%.  So in fact the new unemployment rate is accurate and was not affected by the labor force participation rate.

Are employed

Are unemployed but looking for a job”

Based on this information, Mitt Romney’s explanation of the lower unemployment rate is that, less people are looking for jobs. Therefore they are not being accounted into the equation being used by the department of labor to calculate unemployment rates. If less people are being accounted for and the amount of jobs being filled are relatively the same as the month before, than it would seem like more people are employed and this would seem like an accurate account of how unemployment rates went down.

         
        President Obama seemed to view the new lower unemployment rate with optimism and a sign that the economy is headed in the right direction.  He did however acknowledge in an article that appeared in WSJ.com written by Laura Meckler and Danny Yadron (2012) [that]: “Today’s news certainly is not an excuse to try and talk down the economy to score a few political points. It’s a reminder this country has come too far to turn back now.” This statement definitely seems to give the impression that although progress has been seen this month; the unemployment rate is far from where it needs to be in order for our economy to be considered in recovery.

         
         In essence what each candidate is stating is their own version of the truth. After reviewing the “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey” (Bureau of Labor Statistics Data), I was able to see the labor force participation rates from the year 2002- present.  Mitt Romney is correct in his statement that if the number of people looking for work were the same as when President Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be at about 11%. That is because in 2009 the labor force participation rate was between 65.7 and 64.6. What this means is a lot more people were looking for jobs then, than there are now in 2012.  President Obama’s version of the facts is also correct in how they pertain to the current numbers in the forms of unemployment rates and the labor force participation rate.  

 References

Laible, C. (2012, October 08). Romney gives alternate reason for drop in

unemployment rate. Fox News. Retrieved from

politics.blogs.foxnews.com/2012/10/08/Romney-gives-alternate-reason-

drop-unemployment-rate

Moffatt, M. (2012). What is the labor force participation rate? Retrieved

from economics.about.com/od/unemploymentrate/f/labor_force.htm

Meckler, L., & Yadron, D. (2012, October 5). Obama, Romney focus on

unemployment report. WSJ.com. Retrieved from

online.wsj.com/article/SB1000087239639044422310457803855165043517

8.html?mod=Googlenews_wsj

Bureau of Labor Statistics Data, Databases, Tables & Calculators by

Subject. (2012). Labor force statistics from the current population survey

[Graphs]. Retrieved from data.bls.gov/time series/LNS11300000/