Unemployment in the US

Because of the coronavirus pandemic which got to the United States, more than 6.6 million Americans became unemployed. Based on these data, the total number of applications for unemployment benefits over the past three weeks has exceeded 10 million.

In March, President Trump signed a law enforcing a $ 349 billion wage protection plan. The necessary assistance will be provided to millions of small entrepreneurs in order to support their business and their employees.

The importance of labor and unemployment issues in the United States is evidenced by a number of existing government departments. At the federal level, the implementation of labor legislation is carried out by the Ministry of Labor, the National Directorate for Labor Relations, the Federal Service for Mediation and Reconciliation, the Commission for Equal Employment Opportunities, and other departments.

The state not only acts as a guarantor of compliance with legislatively established labor standards, but also pursues an active policy of improving the quality of the workforce, training it in accordance with changing market requirements, and promoting the employment of the most vulnerable groups of the population, especially the unemployed. 

At the beginning of the XXI century, significant changes occurred both in the number of  unemployed and in unemployment rates by type of economic activity. The most common was the increase in the number of unemployed managers and specialists, due primarily to increased competition among them.

Unemployment also increased among lawyers, law enforcement officials, specialists in the natural and social sciences, workers in the extractive industries and construction, employees in the field of public services and repair. The need for specialists in engineering and technical specialties remains high and not fully satisfied, which is reflected in a reduction in unemployment among the corresponding categories of labor.

At the same time, the labor supply of a number of humanities specialists, due to the prevailing orientation on their preparation of the American education system, exceeds the demand, and this, in turn, makes unemployment more relevant for representatives of these professions. The growth of unemployment in agriculture and forestry is natural - both under the influence of globalization, scientific and technological progress.

A key factor in the current economic development of the United States is improving the quality of human resources. In the healthcare sector, the availability of health insurance remains a pressing issue. In the field of education, the problems of developing the labor potential of the US population are associated, first of all, with the insufficient efficiency of primary and secondary schools. This problem is reflected in the level of education of students, especially in the field of exact sciences, and their readiness or lack of motivation to enter college and go to work.