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John Anderegg Instructor: J Frogley English 2010 MW 1pm 30 October 2011 Methods of Research In order to find relevant and credible sources for this report, online school databases Sirs Researcher, CQ Researcher and Academic Premier Researcher were used to gain five different sources. Salon.com is a credible news database that was also used in this report for an additional two more sources. All of these databases of journalists articles and informative documents are all carefully researched and made as accurate as possible. Most of these documents come from journalists who write for papers who have their own research team to find credible information on any given issue. Six different carefully assessed articles that best described all of the point of views and different positions on the issue of the USs high unemployment rate and its effect on the economy were chosen and cited for future references. Each article was organizationally noted in its own section of notebook one by one. Individually, I read each article as carefully as possible critically examining every detail in order to get the best information out of each one. As I read through each one, I noted key terms throughout it in a systematic way. Once all six sources were fully noted and read over multiple times in order to obtain all critical information, I began to create

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an annotated bibliography before writing anything down for the report so I could make sure I fully understood the complexity of the issue and all possible positions taken. The annotated bibliography ended up being 12 pages long while including an introduction to the issue explaining the gist and complexity issue briefly. Each source documented in the annotated bibliography was about four paragraphs long while mostly kept to one page each. Each cited source consisted of a summary on the article as well as claims and main points made throughout it. Additionally, the sources credibilitys were discussed and key points that pointed out the documents fairness and reliability. Finally, main views found in the sources were discussed on how they fit into the overall research on the issue of the high US unemployment rate. Throughout my research for this report I have obtained the main concerns on the issue and documented every step. Sources have been correctly cited and they all play just as important and just as critical role in this report. Main claims that best represent the complexity of this issue have been chosen for spotlight in this report and carefully noted in a designated section of the research notebook for quick future reference. Creating a design and piecing everything together in a creative way to inspire a want to read and understand what the report is about Findings and Discussions The US unemployment rate is at an all-time high, since the great depression. There are many ongoing debates and speculations of what has caused such a high unemployment rate and what is causing it to stay that way. There are also many

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different ideas on what can be done to help improve the job market and get the jobs needed for the USs workforce. According to Peter Katel, a Journalist for CQ Researcher, federal statistics show that even two years after the recession has ended, there are still not enough jobs being added to the market monthly to actually make any improvement on the USs economy and job market. Considering how long it has been and there is still little if any improvement on the unemployment rate in the US, more needs to be done about creating new jobs and even new industries. Peter Katel also says how even though 290,000 jobs were added to the market in the month of April, the most added in one month in a four year span until then, the national unemployment rate for The United States of America still only raised .2 percent. Because the recovery has been so slow, it only proves that not much is being done to add more jobs to the market. Katel goes on that in spite of one third of a million new jobs being added to the market in just one month, it is still not enough to get this country back to where it was at the beginning of the century for many decades to come. There needs to be additional help than already in place for there to be any additional improvement on the unemployment rate and the status of the job market. Throughout research on the topic of the US unemployment rate, there seems to remain tension on whether or not the government is doing their part in all of this to help add jobs to the market and help recreate prosperity in the middle class. Christina Romer, a journalist for the Herald Tribune, wrote that the USs economy has been in bad shape since the recession begun in late 2007.

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There are many speculations on what the main concerns are when it comes to trying to get the economy back in the state it was a decade ago. One main concern that most have agreed with, is the high unemployment rate must be reconciled in order to improve the economy. According to Christina Romer, currently the USs unemployment rate is at 9.1 percent. Romer says how in the past, a national average has been recorded to be right around 5 percent, mainly because it takes time for workers to be placed in jobs. With the nations unemployment rate being so high, that alone should be enough of a red flag to get the attention it needs to be fixed. If people are not making any money then they will not have any to spend. Therefore, business goes down as well as job availability. It is a circle where the only way for there to be help is from the outside. And again, according to Christina Romer, a nations economy cannot thrive unless the workforce is at work. Peter Katel explains how it takes specific requirements to fill what available jobs are actually out there now days with the economy being in the shape it is. These requirements are becoming stricter as more and more are looking for work and fewer jobs are becoming available. Katel describes how college graduate level of education has become essential to obtain any sort of decent job. Employers have so many applicants for each position they try to fill, they have a wide variety of applicants that may have all types of education and certifications. In turn, this leads to employers being extremely critical when hiring on new help. Regardless of the fact that college education is the only way to get a good job in todays market, Katel explains how college attendance across the country is actually falling. In addition, he says that employers tend to favor those with jobs, in turn, making it even harder for the

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unemployed to become employed. Although, if one that is already employed goes out and obtains another one in replacement then that still leaves an employment position available. Therefore, just because employers favor those with jobs, in the long run, that position on the issue is not really relevant. Regardless, the job market is bad and job availability is slim. Other findings throughout the research were from the perspective of what unemployment is doing to so many across the country as far as mental health is concerned. According to Daniel Lippman, a Journalist for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in the month of June 2011, a nationwide suicide prevention center received a total of about 62,000 calls, one third of which were related to economic stress. These statistics show that the increasingly difficult situation the bad economy and high unemployment rate are putting on the citizens is causing additional problems for the country. Lippman describes how if the issue of increased stress levels and even increased suicide attempts directly relating from the USs economic status is not taken more seriously, then health coverage will increase substantially, damaging or hindering any efforts to recover the economy. Ultimately, this just leads back to the fact that the unemployment rate and the current status of the job market is making a huge impact on the countrys economic status and physical and mental health status of the people. In addition, it is a major concern when it comes to repairing and rebuilding the USs economy and job market to a point where it is thriving and prosperous as it once was. Another concern surrounding the issue of the USs high unemployment rate, are the benefits being disbursed by the government to all of the unemployed and how benefits are being extended to those that are considered the long term unemployed.

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This however raises debates of whether or not these extensions are just adding more incentive to the unemployed to remain that way and not actually do all they can to get back into the workforce. Peter Katel writes how at the end of 2011, extensions of unemployment benefits that were set in place by Barrack Obama in the past 24 months are due to expire. In addition, Katel describes how the extensions were set up mainly to help those that are considered long term unemployed, which are considered those that have been without unemployment for more than 90 days. Andrew Leonard, a Journalist for the web news page Salon, writes how some speculate that these benefits are an incentive to not go out and obtain employment. Leonard goes on to describe the position that the money going to these people through these unemployment benefits is actually helping the economy because it all flows right back into the economy because they spend it on their groceries and gas. Obviously people need to have some sort of income to survive. If extra benefits were not provided to the long term unemployed, they would eventually have to find some other source, like a job. Therefore, benefits can only accommodate for so long and eventually people will have to go out and find a job, which in the long run, would be more beneficial to the economy. Otherwise, they are just draining tax payers money and will eventually have a negative impact on the economy. According to Leslie Clark, a journalist for McClatchy-Newspapers, Obama has recently proposed a 447 billion dollar job plan that will help create all types of jobs throughout the nation. This proposal shows that the government has taken the high unemployment rate as a serious threat to the economys well-being. Peter Katel agrees that the government is the outside help that the job market needs in order to gain any

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ground on improvement. Leslie Clark writes how in order for this economy to recover we need more jobs. Clark describes how the proposal written to congress from Barrack Obama recently is just the stimulus to put job recovery and economic status relief back in the books and put the country back on track to being peaceful and prosperous again.

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