Question

Discussion Topic: Unemployment and Technology

For this Discussion Topic, first we'll look at the overall unemployment rate in the US, then consider how technology affects unemployment and other economic factors.   

Answer 1

Unemployment Compensation

Unemployment compensation is a type of temporary benefit paid to people who have lost their jobs. This lesson explains unemployment compensation, including its purpose and benefits.

Unemployment compensation was first established during the Great Depression as a part of the Social Security Act of 1935. During that era, the country saw record numbers of unemployed among the working class.

These monetary benefits were designed to fulfill unemployed workers' most basic needs, such as simple foods and a few rent payments. Often, the unemployment compensation payments were barely enough to provide one meal per day for a family. However, these payments allowed unemployed workers to allocate a reasonable amount of time searching for gainful employment during a time when many people found themselves toiling at hard labor for little pay.

Technology;, the application of scientific knowledge to the practical aims of human life or, as it is sometimes phrased, to the change and manipulation of the human environment.

Technological unemployment; The loss of jobs caused by technological change. Such change typically includes the introduction of labour-saving "mechanical-muscle" machines or more efficient "mechanical-mind" processes (automation)