In the Market for Unemployment?

Wrapping it all up....in pretty christmas wrapping paper...just in time for the holidays.

2006-12-31T23:59:00.000-05:00

Throughout our travels through Editorial Land, we found many articles on outsourcing. It seems to us that, as crazy as it sounds, people are very interested in hearing about whether or not they'll have a job in the future. We here at gotwork(unincorporated) think that its odd how people always blame outsourcing when they lose their job. Its never a decline in quality of workmanship, showing up to work on time, or any of those factors. Its always some guy in India that stole our work. Most articles that we read actually said that outsourcing wasn't that bad. Even articles that weren't totally dedicated to defeating the outsourcing media bandwagon, did admit that maybe outsourcing wasn't to blame.
In a different color wrapping paper(a lame substitute for the different note cliche), we found lots of articles on college students and jobs...or lack thereof. Many college students are getting greedy and thinking that they might actually get a good job and pay back student loans. Turns out that the job market doesn't think that would be fair :(. There are some articles that seem like a light at the end of the tunnel. Jobs are actually going up for college students, according to these articles. Its weird how two articles can go two totally different ways on the exact same subject. Tomato..tomato. Trust me it works if you hear it.
So, in the end we've learned many things. Outsourcing is overused, college students may or may not be getting jobs when they graduate, and we use way too many cliches when writing.

college job market

2004-12-06T07:59:00.000-05:00

This article is really interesting about how future college professionals view the job market. Many belief that just because they just got out of college that this brand new 80,000 dollars a year job will land in ther lap. I know I was always told growing up to go to college because i will get a good job then. Thats not necessarily true anymore. Everyone goes to college so it isn't like having a leg up on anyone anymore. I heard on the radio the other day that people who don't got ot college can sometimes actually have the advantage over those who choose education first. That 4-8 years spent ini school could actually be spent working if that person could find a decent job. (the decent job part is the catch). Anyway, students also are used to this lifestyle in college of no worries and no real responsibilies other than going to class. For most graduates it is a huge wake up call to get out into the real world and most end up going back home and living with their parents beacuse they have no job and can't support themselves. It's also a false image that a lot of celebrities give out. Take Labron James, Jessica Simpson, etc., they are young adults who are making millions of dollars a year. For some reason many other people believe that kind of money is to be made by all people, specifiacally that person. Theire standards are just oo high for the job market. I mean, really, how many people actually make that kind of money...

Market blah blah blah

2004-12-06T07:47:00.000-05:00

Wow! Another article, another day. Ther author of Market Fundamentalism does seem to bring up alot of good points in his article. He believes that people are selfish and greedy adn only want to help themselves. Wait, sounds familiar...founding fathers maybe. Anyway, he also believes that a free market economy is destructive, and to maintain a laissez faire government will hurt the economy in the long run. (So I guess he wasn't a big fan of Adam Smith.) It makes sense to me that regulations always need to be put in place just set guidelines. Hey, we have law that set guidelines for our country so everyone doesn't go around killing everybody else just because they feel like it. I totally agree with the fact that minimum wage needs to be enforced so people who are really desperate for money and work don't get the shaft from some greedy and mean employer. But what I really don't get a total grip on is his bash on tax breaks. I mean I'm all for getting money back from the government because it's not like I don't work one day out of five for the government to pay taxes or anything. Tax breaks can really help stimulate the economy by allowing employers especially to hire more workers and people to save or circulate that money into the economy. This guy just sopunds to me like a man who needs to sit bak and relax for a sec, adn take a breather. Way too uptight...

GT prez

2004-12-05T23:41:00.000-05:00

I thought that Wayne Clough really brought up a lot of good points in this interview. He really focuses on the fact that the economy goes through ups and downs, but everyone needs a stronglobal economy overall to really help drive individual countrys' economys to higher places. He was definitely right about outsourcing not being counterproductive, in my opinion, and backed it up with useful information about the global economy. For instance, it makes sense not to force companies to base locations and force jobs in the US if they aren't naturally occuring. All that leads to is eventual ans inevitable loss of all those jobs at one time, versus slowly sending them in overseas and replacing that job with another job. I liked that he focuses too on students and potention job marketers to evaluate their plans in life and pick something suitable to the economy at that time. The economy is always changing and new technology is always developing. Like Clough said, there are too many smart people in America for companies just to stop coming here or basing here. But likewise, there are many other people around the world that are just as intelligent. I just really liked that idea that not every smart personm in the world is in America so of course not all jobs are here.

Good News for Graduates

2004-12-01T14:16:00.000-05:00

The article "Promising Job Market for Graduates" is optimistic about the job market for recent and upcoming graduates. Thirteen percent more college graduates are expected to be hired in 2005 than in 2004. The increase in employment is due to a more productive economy (in some fields) and more workers leaving the workforce for retirement. The article focused mainly on employment growth occuring in fields requiring a business, language, science, or other non-tech degree. However, this should not be disappointing to most tech students because the article portrayed growth in employment in the technology sector as common knowledge and not worthy of reporting.

Fields hungry for new graduates, such as healthcare, are offering to pay back student loans or pay for one's education entirely in exchange for a few years of work after graduation. The job market seems to be looking quite good for some graduates. Though growth in employment for graduates is expected to rise, it does not, by any means, ensure graduates a job. Today's workplace is quite competitive, and so one must distinguish themselves from the thousands of other graduates with the same credentials. The abundance of jobs also does not foretell higher wages or better jobs for graduates. There are only more jobs available.

charleston.net says i'm getting a job. tongue sticking out must ensue.

2004-11-30T13:42:00.000-05:00

Good news for once. I love optimism. It makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Is it because the elections are over, or maybe because of many upcoming retirees. Maybe I don't care cuz I'm getting a job. Yes. Money. It really is good to here someone talking about employment, and not here outsourcing. I didn't a ctrl+f on the site, outsourcing was not in the article at all. Or india. What a releif. The word jobs appears 3 times, money appears once. Those are the words I like to here. Good job Charleston.net. Maybe ITworld, or whatever it was that I blogged about earlier, should take some lessons from you. If there was an emoticon with thumbs sticking up that I knew how to do, you would get it. But seeing as how I don't, you're out of luck. Thanks anyways.

new....news. wow. that was weird.

2004-11-30T13:14:00.000-05:00

Wow. As if noone had told me that outsourcing was bad, or employment was declining, or the tech industry wasn't doing as hot as it should be... here comes an article that tells me all of that. Thank god. Cuz you can never get enough of THE SAME OLD NEWS AGAIN AND AGAIN. Ooops. Caps lock came on, my bad. Ok they do have some numbers. Thats good. At least it wasn't a total waste of my time. But wait. Good news. There are some jobs that have gone up. Good news considering that they had a decline in the first qua...oh wait. They may not have had a decline. Sampling error. Wow. Even the data, the one saving point of the article, seems to be flawed. Man, maybe this was a complete waste of my time. Ok, maybe prestigious websites such as ITworld.com shouldn't put up information everyone else is putting up. I'm getting pretty sick and tired of this outsourcing bandwagon everyone is jumping on. Why can't we get news. Look at the first three letters. New. That's what keeps people interested. NEW NEWS. Odd how well those two words go together.

Japan's Unemployment Rises

2004-11-30T13:12:00.000-05:00

In this article, it discusses how Japan's economy is starting to look worse and worse, a trend which started a few months ago. It says that the economy can't depend soley on consumer spending for growth. Japan relied on consumer spending to sustain a recovery in the third quarter since overseas sales decreased and global demand declined. Also, as wages started to decrease so has the demand for goods. Wages have declined for all but four of the past 44 months because companies cut costs by replacing their full-time workers with part-timers, who are paid less often. Japanese companies depend on demand forom the U.S. and other overseas markets to drive sales. That means that since Japanese markets are faltering, the U.S.'s will soon follow because there is a decrease in our demand for goods and services. Soon, the U.S. will find itself in a similar place Japan is in, with lower wages and less consumer sales.

President of the Georgia Institute of Something Or Other

2004-11-30T11:50:00.001-05:00

This isn't really an article as much as its an interview. But hey, look who they're interviewing. The president of some Georgia Institute of Technology. I've always wanted to go there. Maybe we can have a field trip one day before finals. Anyways, Cnet and this guy sit down and chat about the tech industry and employment in it. I think that this guy's credibility has to be way up, so its gotta be a good article. I'm not sure I even tried to find flaws in his arguements. I figured if anyone's gonna know what he's talking about. Its gonna be him. At the end he starts talking about some ideas to start up industries by getting the public to take a stake in the industry. Sounds sort of socialistic. But hey if it gets me my job here in America, then I'm cool with it. They talk about the ever-present threat of *dum dum dum* outsourcing. *hisssss hissss hissss* Research and Development(or R&D as they put it) is brought up alot. Seems that development has slowed since the Cold War, and that's why industry is declining. No more commies to kill and look what happens to us. Come here Putin.

The new generation of jobs

2004-11-30T11:32:00.000-05:00

I totally agree with the Generation Y article. It si so true that flexibility is really taking over and becoming more important than money. I know for me one of the main reasons I love my job so much is because it is about as flexible as they come. I work for a chain of Gold's Gyms as a trainer and Group Fitness Instructor. I pick what times I want to train and choose what classes I want to teach. It is great because I can go to school at the same time without conflicts. I could probably find some tech job that I could make twice as much money, but there is no way it would be as flexible. I think also people are starting to realize that money doesn't necessarily buy happiness. At a former job, one of my bosses just quit because she didn't feel like she spent enough time with her family and church because she was always at work. Yes she made a lot of money, but money didn't buy her time. Especially for the generation Y, it doesn't matter how much money you make, if you can't work AND go to school, what good does it do?

Media Success Status: Nearly Unobtainable

2004-11-30T11:12:00.000-05:00

In the article “Get-rich-fast ideal, celebrity culture lead 20-somethings to frustration” Don Fernandez argues that the media has so heavily influenced generations X and Y that once they leave their bubble shelters many of them experience a “quarterlife crisis.” He argues that the media has prepared them for an easy life where wealth and good living come easy, but instead they should have been preparing for hard work and a “not so dreamy” lifestyle. The author also says that the people of generations X and Y have had a lack of “monumental social change” which has given the media an even greater influence, since there was nothing to compete with it. The ideal lifestyle portrayed by the media would be great, but through the study of economics we can clearly see that what the media says is success will never belong to everyone because there is simply not enough resources to satisfy the needs, let alone the wants of these media raised generations. This article presents a nice point about why the job market looks so bad, and it is because the people who are saying that it is bad are those who want it to be perfect and are critical of anything but perfection. This generation had the idea that once they graduated from college they would get jobs and live happily ever after, but as they can see, many of them will have no such luck.

Jobs are on the Way!

2004-11-30T10:24:00.000-05:00

Kris Wise, writer for The Post and Courier of South Carolina talked about how the job market for graduates is improving and has been improving since last year. Across the nation the amount of jobs available to graduates will increase by 13 percent, an increase from the already rising percentage of 2003. According to the National Association for Colleges and Employers, the amount of jobs being offered by employers to graduates increased in 2003 by nearly 13 percent. Overall, the author does a good job of showing that the economy is on a steady rise which should give graduates hope. He uses heavy statistical data to show that what he is saying is true, then adds quotes to certify that others share his opinion, to show that it is not just some crazy theory he dreamt up. This article by Kris Wise is an article meant to give a bit of hope to graduates by showing that with a little effort, they can easily get a job.

Jobs No Longer Rule Everyones Lives?

2004-11-30T02:03:00.000-05:00

In the article posted by Cody, “The Young and The Restless,” Samuel Greenard argues that the new generation of workers, dubbed “Generation Y” is searching for qualities in the workplace very different from those their parents were searching for. According to him this generation is not focused solely on money but instead on how the job would affect their lifestyle and how it could benefit them on their way to the occupation of their dreams. What this group between the ages of 16 and 24 wants is to have the balance of work and leisure that has been sought after for so long. What everyone wants is to be able to have and do everything they desire but because of the lack of resources there is no way that this is feasible, so people turn to the next best thing, the perfect combination of an enjoyable job with the pay to allow for their lifestyle activities of choice. This is the brilliant philosophy that has become widespread and understood by the people of Generation Y, and it is because of the deep grasp of this concept that this generation has the best chance so far of maintaining a productive and innovative job market.

Not the First Time This has Happened

2004-11-29T23:17:00.000-05:00

This article written by Greg Schneider is another one of those depressing stories about how the IT job market is failing. The reason for this failure, however, is that the market made great progress and advances in technology. Because of this, it has become inefficient and anti-cost effective to hire so many people. Such leaps in computing have been made that now a small group of skilled workers can accomplish more than ever before with the help of the new and continually improving computers and software, which means that too many people might actually slow down the efficiency of the company and would definitely reduce profits. Although this means that IT is becoming more productive than ever, it also means that many people will be out of jobs, many of whom will have sad stories such as the one David Packman has. What is happening here is not anything new though, as it has happened before, just under slightly different circumstances. This is comparable to the days when steel mills and other factories provided much of the employment for many parts of the country; eventually new machinery was able to do the jobs of many while requiring few employees. Now with the new computer age, the same thing is happening, and people will just have to adapt as the steel mill and factory workers did in previous times.

The Harsh Economy and Migrant Programmers

2004-11-29T21:53:00.000-05:00

In the article Slowdown Forces Many to Wander for Work, Schneider discusses the difficult times that employees in information technology jobs are currently facing. During the 90's, the number of tech jobs skyrocketed and provided millions of Americans with a stable source of income. However, the article confirms the recent stir about the decline of tech jobs. IT employees receive a salary above the national average, yet some white-collar IT workers have been reduced to migrant workers by harsh economic conditions. From other articles I have read, tech jobs are supposed to continue to grow. In fact, IT jobs were listed as one of the career fields expected to grow most rapidly between now and 2012. The article provided statistics suggesting that the number of jobs and the real income in the IT field are decreasing.

Job Specifications for Generation Y

2004-11-29T01:06:00.000-05:00

The 16 to 24 age group desires very different qualities in a job than older members of the American work force. "The Young and the Restless" discusses the desires of so-called Generation Y. The traditionally essential values for a job are pay and opportunities for advancement. However, one of the top concerns for young workers is flexibility. I can definitely understand the need for flexibility. A rigid schedule can be difficult to follow, especially while going to college. Another major value for Generation Y employees are the added perks that make a job cool. Such perks include employee discounts, food, and even drycleaning. Young works are unlike their older counterpart because they do not aspire to hold a single job for their career, but rather, many diverse jobs as they work toward their desired occupation. Companies must appeal to theinterests of members of Generation Y by offering freedom and independence in order to gain competant workers.

Pop Culture vs. Job Market Realities

2004-11-25T20:32:00.000-05:00

I found the linked article "Get-rich-fast ideal, celebrity culture lead 20-somethings to frustration" to be thought provoking because it analyzed ideals and the mindset of modern culture instead of trends and statistics. The article quotes one of my favorite movies, Fight Club, where Tyler says something about being raised by the media to believe that one day we’d be millionaires and movie gods and rocks stars. However, he goes on to say that we won’t be and we’re very, very pissed off. I think that many recent college graduates are very, very pissed off because they cannot find the job that they were virtually promised by society and television. They have spent a great deal of time and money on a piece of paper that is a decoration instead of a ticket to a dream job. Unemployment is up, and the jobs that are available will not make one a millionaire any time soon. The materialistic hype of many contemporary television shows, such as “Cribs”, mislead Americans into believing in a nearly impossible dream. Once again referring to Fight Club, our generation had no great war or struggle as those generations did before us. Instead, our lives have been almost entirely focused on pop culture.

Maybe it is not the job market that is bad, but rather, our expectations are too high to be conceivable. Many of those in search of jobs expect a rewarding job with good pay. Most jobs suck incredibly bad to those conditioned by pop culture to strive to be a rock star or movie god. Sometimes one must start at the bottom of the career ladder, like it or not.

college ideals for the job market

2004-11-22T22:22:00.000-05:00

This article is a little different, but it is pretty cool. It talks about the pressure and false ideas college students have concerning the job market. We're always told we need to go to a good college and get a degree, but what does that actually do for us?...

Slowdown of IT jobs

2004-11-16T13:24:00.000-05:00

The article about the family man searching for a job was extremely sad and unfortuate. IT must be so scary to one day realize that your services aren't wanted anymore because people can get them cheaper somewhere else. It's even worse that he is married with children and no income to support them. It appears now that people such as he are going to have to up their knowledge and move on to different areas. There are still plenty of IT jobs available according to the article, they are just going to have to adjust and work more towards those areas. It stinks, but technology is constantcly improving, therefore those in the IT field are forced to move along with these improvements, or in the case of David Packman, are forced to live in a motel with no job. It is still extremely unfortunate that there are many people such as David now wondering what they are going to do...

Say goodbye to tech jobs....and other cliche lines. actually, that's the only cliche line.

2004-11-11T13:44:00.000-05:00

this article from washington post online talks about how the falling amount of tech jobs is forcing some workers to move around to keep money. the article talks about how there was a large rise in tech jobs between 1983 and 2000. This rise gave the hint that tech jobs would be bring about a "New Economy." It doesn't seem that this is the way it happened. the article doesn't end on a horrible note though. it does give hope to those in IT jobs by saying that jobs are still being created and that the average pay for IT workers is higher than the national average.

Outsourcing and IT

2004-11-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

I don't believe that outsourcing is the major problem. The umempleyment rate was so low in the early 90's was the huge technological boom that occured. I believe that really there isn't to much to worry about because outsourcing jobs can be extremely beneficial to the economy. I do agree though that the IT cmpanies can't go completely crazy and start outsourcing every job known to man, but the reality is that is not likely to happen. The economy has its ups and downs therefore unemployment is going to fluctuate. People get so upset about outsourcing jobs, but most of those jobs people don't want anyway...

Information Technology and Outsourcing

2004-11-09T02:58:00.000-05:00

In this article by Eric Chadbrow reveals an interesting point about job losses and Information Technology training. Basically, what Chadbrow says is that outsourcing has been having a minimal effect on the economy so far, but could soon, soon being within the next five to ten years, start to have a major impact on the IT job market if the professionals that would like to keep their jobs do not “sit down and talk about what it'll take to maintain the knowledge and skills of the workforce.” The author states that when it comes to IT, “unemployment increases with age” as almost 7% of the IT professionals in their 50’s are unemployed. This article makes a strong argument that although outsourcing to foreign countries can become a problem, the reality is that as long as the best IT workers are living in the United States, the chances of that becoming a crisis is minimal. By providing evidence that the U.S. IT job market is not at a high risk of being demolished by the foreign IT market, Chadbrow is able to effectively convey a message that would calm the anxieties of many people. This article creates a strong argument for the position that believes that the economy will not be ruined by outsourcing.

Outsourcing

2004-11-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

The outsourcing article by Don Hicks is very interesting. As I hear about computer jobs getting shipped overseas, I myself, a CS major, think about outsourcing a good deal. This, and other articles I've been reading, have been doing a good job of convincing me that I have nothing to worry about. It seems a general consensus, in the educated crowd, that outsourcing actually helps the economy. There was one problem with the statistics of one of the arguments however. When the article talks about outsourcing speed as compared to insourcing speed, it quotes two percentages as increases. We still need their initial amount in order to find out exactly how many jobs were gained and lost to make a comparison. I would have liked the article more if it wasn't just bold presentation of myths followed by a sentence of myth busting, but that's just a style issue which is probably a personal opinion. Overall I liked what the article had to say, and think it, along with many other pro-outsourcing articles, convince people that outsourcing can help.

The Benefits of Outsourcing

2004-11-07T23:37:00.000-05:00

In the article Dispelling the Myths of Outsourcing, Don Hicks clears up misunderstandings about the issue of offshore outsourcing and its effect on the economy and unemployment. Offshore outsourcing is a vital part of free trade. The U.S. economy is the strongest in the world due to its ability to adapt to change in order to remain competitive in a dynamic global economy. Offshore outsourcing reduces the cost of producing goods, which enables businesses to gain a clear advantage over competitors.
Consumers and businesses benefit from outsourcing but many Americans fail to realize this. Instead, they see only the temporary unemployment and cry out in agony. Much of the hype about offshore outsourcing can be traced to Democrats attempting to discredit Bush's job record, but the current recession is due to causes other than outsourcing.

Market Fundamentalism vs. Moral Economy

2004-10-28T01:27:00.000-04:00

In this article, the author compares Market Fundamentalism and Moral Economy. He defines Market Fundamentalism as an unregulated market where the government practices a lassie-faire style of market involvement. Supposedly, under Market Fundamentalism, the "invisible hand" is supposed to keep the market balanced without an outside force (the government) having to moderate it. The author argues in his article that an unregulated market is an unfair market. People's own greed will cause some to be disadvantaged while others are favored. An unbalanced economy such as this will end up collapsing in the end. The author idea of Moral Economy supposedly solves this problem. In this model, regulations such as minimum wage are enforced in an attempt to maintain a balance in the economy and prevent our own greed from causing our economic destruction. It would prevent firms like Wal-Mart from paying such meager wages that many of its employees have to rely on food stamps to feed their families. He argues that a Moral Economy, rather than Market Fundamentalism, will give us a stronger and more effective economy.

Blame Market Fundamentalism?

2004-10-25T14:40:00.000-04:00

Here is another article on unemployment. Although this article does not directly deal with unemployment, it brings up ideas which affect the economy we live in. The author of this article does a very nice job of persuading his audience that “Market Fundamentalism” is, in simple terms very, very bad. He points out that the idea of such a free market is very vulnerable to excesses of greed and ambition, and for this reason, the markets need supervision. He makes an extremely compelling case when he compares the market to the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. He basically says that the market can be a great benefit to society, but when it is left unrestricted to a group of people that are driven by a desire for more of basically everything they want; it can be a “dangerous and destructive force,” like fire in the wrong hands. Fred Block goes on the state that that way of economic policy-making of flawed, then moves on to include a broader view that the administrations who have followed this ideology are to blame for many of the worlds current problems, such as terrorism, global poverty, and U.S. unemployment. Although these are problems that would not normally be grouped together, this author has put them forth in such a way that many swing voters who would actually take the time to read this fairly long article could be convinced that the current administration should be changed.

Unemployment Benefits

2004-10-24T15:55:00.000-04:00

Extending unemployment benefits will not create jobs, so the current system should just be left alone. It was even reported in the article that both payroll and household job statistics indicate that the job market is improving. Unemployment insurance will just create a reason to be lazy and delay finding work, since it would just be easier to do nothing and have the government pay you to sit around and claim to be actively seeking employment. Another reason to maintain the current unemployment benefit system as stated in the article is that it would cost the government a large sum of money, money that could be better spent in other areas of our economy.

The Trouble with Extending UI

2004-10-24T15:50:00.000-04:00

From the article, it seems that the economy is not doing as poorly as the media and politicians have made it seem. Since the economy is getting progressively better, Congress should leave the program alone. The author stated that it would cost an additional billion dollars per month to extend the amount of time an individual can receive unemployment benefits. A billon dollars per month could be better spent else where or, even better, not spent given the huge deficit that the federal government is currently facing. If the UI is extended it is common sense that it will be abused for longer and more often. The current system gives enough assistance to the unemployed to aid them in getting a job and helps the economy by giving money to the unemployed who will then pump the money back into the economy. A UI program is necessary in our economy, but would be best left alone.

Unemployment Insurance...Good, or Bad?

2004-10-24T10:54:00.000-04:00

This article that I found through Lexis Nexis, argues against extending unemployment insurance. The arguement is very well put together, and has logical reasons, and words from business and economic publications that agree with or support his position. The main arguement is that the labor force is not shrinking, and that increasing the time people can stay on UI "generates the wrong incentives" and would "increase spending by roughly $ 1 billion per month." I'm sure any taxpayer reading this thinks about where their hard earned dollars are going. Even the myth that UI stimulates the economy is shut down by this article. All in all, I think this was very well put together, and has therefore persuaded me to thinking with the author.

Welcome

2004-10-14T14:42:00.000-04:00

This blog is a group project in Dr. Tryon's English 1101 class at Georgia Tech. In this blog, we will be discussing articles on unemployment and job market issues. The group consists of Beau Bennett, Jason O'Bryan, Brittany Barclay, Rolando Iglesias, and Cody David. Please feel free to read and/or comment on our posts.