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Welcome ladies to our AP U.S. Government blog. I want this to be a way to continue our class discussions outside of school. Although your participation is required, this is YOUR blog! I will pick a majority of the topics for discussion, but please let me know about political topics you would like to talk about. Enjoy and have fun!

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Unemployment Landscape of U.S. (Please respond by Friday, October 7)

I found an interesting chart published in the New York Times I wanted to share with all of you for our weekly blog. Take a look at this chart of unemployment throughout the U.S. over the past few years:

Unemployment Graphs

After viewing these graphs, share your honest thoughts. Why is unemployment dispersed the way it is throughout graphs? Do you notice any trends? What specific factors can you think of which might explain some of the trends in these graphs?  Do you think there is any light at the end of this dark tunnel we have been traveling as a country the past few years?

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

It seems like the states with the most unemployment are more of the border states. This could be because of illegal immigration and resource or weather issues. When illegal immigrants come to our country by coming through our borders, they then stay in those border states and take the citizens jobs. Another reason that the unemployment rate of border states is greater could be weather. For example, if the weather is nicer in Florida then there is rarely much road work to be done since roads are not getting messed up throughout the winter and bringing less jobs in construction. There could be many other reasons for the unemployment rate being greater in certain areas though. I think that the only way there will be light at the end of this dark tunnel is if we get a president who has some really great ideas and is willing to take action and apply these plans to the needs of the country. Obama is not really doing much to make our economy or unemployment rates better. This keeps going back to his plan to make our country more in debt to make more jobs. There are many minimum wage jobs out there that unemployed people could try for but many people are too proud to do this. Since Obama's plan is one that could hurt our country even more, people need to swallow their pride and get whatever kind of job they can even if it means working at minimum wage and at a very low position for a while. Hopefully, after this next presidential election, there will be be a new president that will bring light to the end of this dark tunnel and help our country solve the many issues that have been brought about in the past years.

Anonymous said...

From the graphs, I can see that places on the west side seem to be getting deeper into unemployment. Some of these states included California and Nevada. As cliche as it may seem, I feel that one reason for this unemployment in Nevada is because of the intoxicating, possibly detrimental effect that Las Vegas has on people who go there. Many people lose their money from gambling and tend to steer in the wrong direction toward things such as alcohol and other drugs. Also, states in the southeastern part of the United States have a growing unemployment rate, such as Florida. Places along the coast may be affected because of the hurricanes and large storms that they usually have to deal with, which destroys many buildings and homes. Ultimately, I believe there is a light at the end of this tunnel, but only if people get their acts together and look for jobs. Even if they cannot find a high paying job, they should do all they can to support themselves and their families. The government should also propose new deals that will bring about new jobs. I believe that people are really fed up with the recession and its effects and I think that they will try hard to find jobs.

Anonymous said...

After seeing the graphs, it is definitely safe to say that the highest rate of unemployment comes from border states such as California and Florida. This can be due to the fact of the high costs that citizens have to deal with while living in these states since they are by the water. Also, natural disasters, such as hurricanes, have caused destruction and furthermore made the economy in those states plummet due to the money being spent on the recovery of these disasters. Therefore, this causes the shortage of money in order to hire more workers. Another reason may be that taxes are much higher in these areas that are near the water. If businesses in these areas are suffering from high taxes that they have to pay, then they are most likely not going to hire even more people than needed because it is unaffordable. Moreover, infrastructure projects might be dwindling because there isn't enough money to supply these projects, which also lead to lack of creation of new jobs. As of right now, there is VERY dim light at the end of the dark tunnel. Its subtle, but definitely there, if, and only if, Obama and his administration think of a way to diminish unemployment rates and create new plans to encourage economic growth.

Anonymous said...

It seems to show that most of the border states in the United States have increased immensely over the last four years. Although it is also shown that over all the unemployment rates in American on average have double. There can be different theories as to why unemployment is dispersed throughout the states the way it is. Economic conditions of large, densely populated cities could be a factor, as shown in Michigan during the year 2009 when unemployment reached 13.8% probably due to the terrible conditions of Detroit and the Ford plant shutting down. California has also been experiencing high tax rates for its citizens which could lead small business's away from California and to central states, leaving many people unemployed in California. Trends that can be seen on the graphs would be that most coast line states have felt the greater burden of unemployment than the central states.
I think that there could be a light at the end of this dark tunnel for some states, and possible all states, if the right actions are taken to change the economic conditions of major cities and the economy as a whole. Some how FDR was able to pull America through one of Her worst economic times and turn around the unemployment rates drastically. I think political parties need aside their difference and accept some of the proposals that Obama proposes, and any president that may come in the future, to at least take a step in some direction in order to make a change, even if after all we may need to take a step back. At least then we will know what direction to continue on to.

Anonymous said...

I think that it is safe to say that the border states, especially the western coast ones, have the highest unemployment rates. There are many reasons for this. One is that states on the coast, like California and Florida, are high tourist areas. Beautiful weather and the beach are very attractive to vacationers. However, with the economic hard times that exist today, many families cannot afford to go on vacation, which negatively affects the economy of those tourist places, causing unemployment for say, those who work in hotels and main tourist attraction locations. Another reason for these locations to have the highest unemployment rates is because they are majorly affected by hurricanes. The destruction that these disasters cause are often very tragic, destroying peoples' homes, workplaces, and community. Therefore, many become severely financially restrained, including businesses, which causes them to lay off or fire their employees. I do believe there is light at the end of the tunnel, mainly because history repeats itself. I believe that our economy will eventually recover, even if it's very, very, very, slow due to Obama's ineffective plans (but I won't go there). The economy is already improving gradually, and I believe that it is very possible to obtain a successful economy again.

Anonymous said...

I think that the Midwestern states like the Dakotas and Nevada, because their economy is based in agriculture, which is necessary no matter what the economic climate is. As the food prices rise, the more money the farmers get. Also, because there are so many farmers in that region, I am not sure if that is counted as employment or what because they are not "employed" by anybody rather making something (food) and selling ti to us. If they are not included in the unemployment rate then I understand the map even more, because even if the farmers are hurting economically they cannot file for benefits. In California, there are a lot of "cosmetic" companies that deal with service such as interior design etc. therefore when the economy bubble burst, those were the places that people started to cut back on. When you are hurting financially, you don't start cutting back on food, you start cutting back on all of your unnecessary purchases. And also on the eastern seaboard, those who live around DC are usually involved with politics, and that is a hard job to lose.

Anonymous said...

From the graphs, it appears that the West Coast and East Coast have the most unemployment rate as of right now. Like Andi said, illegal immigration could be the major impact on this issue. When immigrants come to the U.S they usually end up in states closer to the border, which could be the reason whey the middle of the country is not as bad as the edges. During the recession the unemployment rate obviously went up but after the recession, the states with the highest unemployment rate's graphs increased, decreased, and now increased again. Which could be from the insignificant amount of jobs avaiable for people. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel, it is just what we make of the situation and how we can move forward and help improve our country as a whole. Obama needs to actually start to do some work as our president and make a difference in our country, for the better.

Anonymous said...

Wow what a change four years makes! The Nation’s unemployment has gotten out of hand so quickly and it is very scary. It comes to no surprise that the main areas are California and Nevada. Nevada, although a very fun place, is not the best because people go there to gamble all their money away and have a good time. But, in recent tough times not as many people are going there. Over these years few years, you see more and more unfinished buildings on the Vegas strip and places closing up. They do not have the money to finish these jobs, which therefore they do not need workers to complete them. In California with all the immigration issues, natural disasters, and not as many tourists due to a bad economy we can see why they have high unemployment also. The same goes for Florida because people do not have the money to go visit and they are hit with natural disasters, which seem to be occurring more often. The central areas have not been hit as hard, but as Maggie says typically people do not go to these states for vacation. Lastly, I believe that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. But, this is a very long tunnel that our leaders need to figure out how to get through.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Looking at these graphs, I personally I am not surprised at the unemployment rates. As it is known by everyone in the country unemployment is a huge problem. It all started with the recession. The recession caused a sense of panic in many people. Many people, especially business owners, were noticing that money was going down. When they realized that this recession was taking place they started laying off many of their employees. As they were losing more and more money they couldn’t afford to keep all of their employees. This is where the huge percentages of the middle chart comes into play. I agree with Emily when she says that they larger western states seem to have the highest rate of unemployment. I believe that since they have a higher population it is harder for employers to give people more jobs. On the other hand, I believe that the unemployment will get better and I do believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. FDR is a good example of this. He saw that there was a problem and started trying new things to fix it. The result of this was the New Deal. I believe that if there is a will there is a way. We just need to find somebody who can help us get out of this problem and start trying new things. However, if somebody doesn’t start doing this fast it is just going to keep getting worse.

Anonymous said...

I feel like these graphs clearly show that a large number of the highest unemployment rated states in America are located on the border. I feel like a main cause of this terrible rate in these border states, especially California, is immigration. Legal or not, immigration is high along the borders. The cost of living is beyond grand, and illegal immigrants are taking our money and giving none of it back. This lack of money causes high unemployment because no money means no new construction jobs, and much more.
I also agree with Nichole when she stated that the states that rely mainly on agriculture are more well-off because of the constant need of food for all people.
Our economy is in a huge rate of unemployment, and the recession is the issue and needs to be fixed. However our economy will never be able to boost itself until people eliminate the panic and fear of the recession. Americans are afraid to spend their money, and until we all start spending, the recession will not end. Eventually The United States will get back up on their feet, as long as we eliminate some of the issues such as immigration, and start spending money.

Anonymous said...

The states that seem to have the highest unemployment rates are the states around the border of the U.S., specifically the southern and western states. Trends in unemployment rates can be affected by several different things. The cost of living in California is much higher then it is in most other states, which is one explanation for California’s high unemployment rate. Since a lot of people lately have been hit pretty hard by our bad economy, they have been cutting things like out-of-state vacations out of their life. This has affected most of the states along the border because they are generally popular vacation spots. The economies of those southern and western states haven’t been able to grow since less people have been spending their money on vacationing in those states, therefore putting people out of jobs. Another contributing factor to unemployment in these areas is the number of illegal immigrants that come into those states. Illegal immigrants take jobs away from American citizens and, since they are not included in the population count, unemployment rates for actual citizens go up.
I do think that there is a light at the end of this dark tunnel. Our country has pulled out of major economic struggles before and we can certainly do it again. I definitely think that it will take some time before things get better again, but I also think that we are slowly recovering. According to the charts, the unemployment rates in most of the states have gone down after just two years, which leads me to believe that it will continue to improve.

Anonymous said...

the data the graphs displays shows unemployment rate has increased since 2007. However the unemployment rate has improved a little bit in some states in the past two years. The worst areas seem to be California and and the wesst caost of the United States as well as the southeast region of the United States. These states have are usually very popular vacationspots, and many people rely on tourist for their income. Unfortunately, the economy is causing people to limit there spending. Many families are not going on vacations as much anymore. therefore the people who depend on tourism for a job are becoming unemployed.When those people become unemployed, they cut back on their spanding causing more people to lose there jos. These states are in a cycle causing the unemployment rates to increase.The area with the smallest unemployment rate are the states in the midwest. These states rely on agriculture for there income. Since people need the resources in the midwest, the farmers may not become unemployed. The country relies on the farmers in the midwest ro provide food and other inportant resources for the people. As a result the farmers have more job security then people relying on people t o travel in order to recieve an income.

Anonymous said...

These graphs display how people often complain of their own situation when they are unaware of the worse situations of others around them. In the Cleveland area, people complain of the economy very frequently, but while our state does not have a very low unemployment rate, compared to some states we are not doing too poorly economically. I think that these graphs show the dramatic downfall of America’s economy and how our nation still has a long recovery ahead. I think that the unemployment rate of Nevada has dropped significantly since the beginning of the recession because during hard times Americans cannot afford to travel and spend money gambling in Nevada’s economical and tourist center of Las Vegas. Because Nevada’s economy is primarily based on tourism and gambling, the unemployment rate of the state of Nevada is affected by the unemployment rates of other states as these statistics determine the way that Americans will spend money in tourist centers such as Las Vegas. The state of California may have a very high unemployment rate because the state has high taxes, and businesses that are forced to pay these high rates will be unable to hire due to financial instability. As a result of this, many businesses have probably left the state and relocated to other areas. The states in the Southeast as well as the states of Ohio, Michigan, and Illinois may be experiencing higher unemployment rates due to the fact that the manufacturing industry is suffering because consumer demand is down as people are unable to afford many manufactured goods. Specifically, the increase in foreign automobile manufacturing has severely affected the state of Michigan’s economy by eliminating jobs in what was once the state’s most prominent industry. States whose economies are based on agriculture such as North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska have low unemployment rates because people always need to eat, and farmers are often self-employed. States in the southern Midwest do not have particularly high unemployment rates probably because of employment in the oil industry which provides Americans with gasoline to fuel our cars. I believe that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel of economic depression because our country has faced many challenges, and with time, our nation will achieve stability once again. I also think that rural farming states with low unemployment rates are proof that not all areas of our nation are failing.

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Unemployment is so high because businesses are not hiring unless they absolutely have to, as they are unsure of what it will cost to have these employees on the payroll. With the new requirements that will be in effect requiring employers to provide health insurance for employees or pay a fine, the cost of having employees is raised. A business is not going to hire someone unless they provide more value to the business than they cost. When you raise the cost of an employee, the business has to decide if they are worth it. Nevada and California have the highest unemployment by far. The liberal political leaders in California must not realize how serious this issue is. While states like Nevada and Michigan are high, they are recovering slowly but surely. However, California seems to be continuously rising in its unemployment rate. In most states during the recession the unemployment rates increased consistently. After the recession, the rates first decreased, but have now started to grow again. I think some of the reasons include weak leadership, illegal immigration, and America's economy in general. However, I definitely think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are just going through a rough patch at the moment, but I feel that our economy will soon improve.

Anonymous said...

Before the recession, unemployment rates were relatively low. Then as the recession hit, the rates shot up which makes complete sense. What I don't entirely understand is why the rates of the states with the highest unemployment did not decrease with the rest of the state. The states with the highest employment are border/southern states. I can only account for two factors which could affect the unemployment rates in these states. Firstly, the weather in these southern is usually much better than the weather in northern states. There isn't any snow to tear up the roads which leads to no need for jobs in construction. The northern states need to hire people to repair roads, but the southern states do not. Thus, leading to higher unemployment rates. Also, the border states would have a larger population of illegal immigrants than any of the other states. Employers would rather hire illegal immigrants for less money than hire legal citizens when they would be forced to pay them more money. This leads to high unemployment rates. I always believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but first we need to keep trying. The government needs to find ways to lower unemployment rates. I personally don't agree with Obama's plan because I don't think we have gotten to that point where it is necessary for the government to actually create jobs. I think it would be effective for the government to lower taxes. Lowering taxes would encourage companies to hire more people because they could afford to pay them.

After hearing some of the main points President Obama described in his State of the Union speech, do you believe he is taking America in the right direction?

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