Question

3. Explain the difference between race, gender, age, education and income in explaining the differences in unemployment. (in your own words)

Answer 1

Younger workers tend to have higher unemployment, while middle-aged workers tend to have lower unemployment, possibly because middle-aged workers feel more heavily responsible for wanting a job. Younger workers move more quickly into and out of employment (and into and out of labour). Elderly people have relatively low unemployment rates as those who have no jobs also leave the workforce by retiring and are thus not included in the statistics on unemployment

In Japan, workers who lose their jobs are often quick to exit the labor force and not look for a new job, in which case they are not counted as unemployed. Moreover, Japanese companies are also very reluctant to fire employees, so businesses have large numbers of staff on reduced hours or officially hired, but do very little.

Unemployment rates vary by group: higher for African-Americans and Hispanics than for whites; higher for less educated than educated; higher for young people than for middle-aged people. Women's unemployment rates used to be higher than men's, but the unemployment rates for men and women have been quite close in recent years. Unemployment rates in the US have contrasted favorably with unemployment rates in most other high-income economies in recent years.

Geographic dispersion, beyond schooling, is an important factor to consider. But within families with comparable income rates, blacks are more likely to live in economically deprived areas than whites, which in contrast to whites will drive their unemployment rate up. Additionally, evidence indicates that Hispanic immigrants may be more likely to live close to their home country, whereas Asian immigrants may choose locations based on economic opportunities.