Introduction
In North America there have been a lot of people that have lost their jobs. This has caused a lot of unemployment, which has also been caused by the lack of new jobs coming onto the market.
Thesis Question
Is unemployment dropping and will it continue to drop?
Evidence
Between 2008 and 2009 the unemployment rate in North America took its sharpest rise in years. It went from as low as 4.5% in 2007 up to 9% in 2009. The peak was in 2010 when the unemployment rate was 10%. Now in the year 2014 it is down to 7%.
By November 2013, the US economy added over 203,000 new jobs since January. It was expected to add around 234,000 new jobs, so it is a little slower than expected, but is still a good sign. Some companies such as CNNMoney had predicted 183,000 jobs, so the economy is not doing too badly.
At the moment there are 11 million people unemployed in Northern America, and that number is slowly going down every year. More people are finding work in the retail industry, and even the professional and business services industry added 35,000 jobs over the year 2013. The transportation and warehousing industry added 30,500 jobs, the manufacturing industry added 27,000 jobs. Healthcare added 28,000 jobs and construction added 17,000 jobs.
The US economy lost around 8.7 million jobs thanks to the recession that hit the country through the global economic downturn. Few countries were spared a recession with the exception of Britain (the UK), China, Australia and Sweden. The US economy now has 7.4 million new jobs that have been filled, which means the aftereffect of the recession is still present, but also shows that the country is healing.
Analysis
The rate at which people are getting jobs is slowing a little at the moment, but the trend is still going in the right direction. The job market it the best it has been since the year 2005, though it is not yet healed from the global economic recession caused by banks. When Wal-Mart opened two stores in Washington DC they received over 23.000 applications for a total of just 600 jobs. This is a sign that there are still a lot of unemployed people out there that are actually seeking work as oppose to those unemployed that are not actively seeking work.
The fact that there are more jobs at the moment means that the effects of the recession have slowed and the country is healing. Economists are anticipating a slight rise in the amount of people wanting a job as those who are disillusioned with working start to apply for jobs with a hope of actually getting one.
Conclusion
Is the unemployment rate dropping? Yes it is, and it is still going down on a predictable, albeit not accurately predictable, path. There is still a lot of healing to be done however, as the Wal-mart example shows. If you were applying to one of the Wal-Marts in Washington, there is only a 2.6% chance of your application being accepted.
Reference
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
http://money.cnn.com/2013/12/06/news/economy/november-jobs-report/
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-jobs-report-december-2013-unemployment-rate-drops-67-nonfarm-payrolls-big-miss-wont-affect-fed
