KHONDOKER RASHID TOPIC PROF., J. WALKERSSN187.1867URBAN SOCIOLOGYDECEMBER 8, 2010FINAL RESEARCH PAPER

URBAN SOCIAL INEQUALITY

SOCIAL INEQUALITY

Social Inequality and Unemployment of New York City

SOCIAL INEQUALITY

SOCIAL

INEQUALITY

What is Social Inequality ?  Social inequality is an issue in our civilization that has been surviving since the beginnings of mankind.  The whole olden times, many attempts have been completed to get rid of this worldwide problem. However, the greed of people has always disallowed the concern of such universal balance.  Over the years, people have begun to consider whether or not social equality is even realistic.  Due to human nature, social inequality can be reduced, but never destroyed completely.

Dimensions of inequality - wealth, status, racial, class, gender, age-related, physical ability, etc

Income inequality is measured by the Gini Coefficient.

Racial inequality is measured by comparing various stats by race - avg life expectancy by race, poverty percentage by race, Unemployment rate by race, etc.

Gender inequality is measured by pay differentials, detention rate differentials, performance speeds, etc.

And how is it measured in U.S. ?

Social Inequality and Unemployment of New York City

Over the past ten years the U.S. economy has seen an increase of unemployment rates across the nation. New York City has seen even higher rates than the national average. What are the causes of the increases in unemployment rates across this nation and specifically New York City? What are some of the possible solutions to the problem that will put people back to work and strengthen the economy? This paper will examine these issues by first presenting a brief summary of the conditions of the New York City’s economic picture, followed by a look at some of the reasons for unemployment and what might be done in an effort to reduce job loss.

In a New York Amsterdam News article, “NYC Unemployment Rises”, Charles Brooks (2003) describes the growing rate of unemployment in the State of New York and how the numbers are being basically ignored by the sitting government officials. He explains that “Recently released figures from the New York State Department of Labor indicate that New York’s unemployment picture continues to suffer and exceed the national average in unemployment and number of lost jobs” (Brooks, 2003, p. 2). And this increase in job loss has exceeded the national average “every month since December 2001.” This rate increase has affected both the public and private sector jobs and continues to be ahead of the national average in both sectors by at least 0.2 percent. Therefore, New York City is not only mirroring the national economic mode, it is leading the charge.

Brooks (2003) points out that the job loss is hitting every industry, “3,800 in manufacturing; 1,400 in construction; 4,600 in transportation and public utilities; 5,000 in trade; 1,900 in the finance, insurance and real estate sector; 800 in services” and the numbers continue with decreasing employment across the board (p. 2). More shocking to Brooks, however, is that the Mayor, Mike Bloomberg, ignored, or failed to mention the dismal unemployment rates in his annual address to the state. Instead the government elected official chooses to focus on the optimistic points of the economic picture. Brooks (2003) quotes Bloomberg as saying, “’We are building on a year of remarkable progress. Today the employment picture has stabilized in crucial sectors of our economy’” (p. 4). Bloomberg believes the city has moved a long way since the previous year and has recovered well since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center. As such he wants to encourage the people with news of hope and new projects like the extending of the No. 7 train and other ventures that will create new jobs in the city. Brooks, on the other hand, wants to see that the “real” picture is told and wants the people to be informed about the down side of the situation. According to Brooks we should be very afraid of the unemployment numbers coming out of every industry, he would rather the mayor tell us the “truth” that we are in real trouble and the sky is falling. But is this message helpful?

In an effort to get the whole or at least a better picture of what is going on in the job market in NYC and across the country we have to ask what are some of the factors causing the increase in unemployment. That is we have to ask “Why is unemployment happing in the first place”? According to Martin Neil Baily (1984), “The Problem of Unemployment in the United States”, demographic changes in the labor force have caused a shift in the structure of the job market. The compositional change shows a shift from a labor force that is made up predominately of white adult males to a labor force that now includes Latinos, Asians, and Blacks, but especially young people. Baily writes, young people have always had a much higher unemployment rate than mature adults, so that simply increasing the fraction of young people in the labor force has contributed to the increase in overall unemployment. Moreover, as the size of the cohort of young people grew, their unemployment rate rose relative to that of adults (Baily, 1984, p. 20).

Due to young people showing ever increasing numbers in the job market while at the

same time working low wage, entry level, unstable short terms jobs, unemployment

numbers and measurements will have to consider the group in their statistical approach

and understanding of the economic picture. Blacks, typically being twice more likely to

be unemployed in a nation still recovering from a history of slavery and racism also has

an effect on the employment numbers. Women have a small effect, but since more and

more women are looking for paid work outside the home, this also affects the numbers of

the traditional unemployment measures. Baily (1984) maintains, “On the whole,

however, for the period from the late 1950’s to the present, demographic trends have

had a strong impact, adding about 2 percentage points to the unemployment rate” (p.

22). New York City has one of the most diverse populations in the nation, if not the

world, maybe this is the reason that the city is about 0.2 percent ahead of the national

average. And maybe things are not as bad—maybe there is hope. And we should look

towards the solutions rather than focus on the problems.

This is exactly what Alan Cranston (1984), “The Path to Full Employment”, attempts to do;

examine the problem and find practical solutions. Cranston believes that any individual that

wants to work should have the opportunity to work and anyone who wants to work hard should

be reward for their efforts and talents. Government should provide programs to encourage the

work and production for anyone to work regardless of their race, age, creed, or national

background. For Cranston work opportunity for all is not only an attainable goal but morally

necessary in a free economy society. “Full employment is a moral imperative in a fair and free

society. It is a realistic, attainable goal. And is it a legitimate yardstick by which to measure the

success or failure of our economic policies” (Cranston, 1984, p. 31). This, Cranston believes, is

the very basic reason why people accept the tenements of capitalism and why we have a free

market economy in the first place. Here, government must take the lead in: strengthening the

basic industries; giving special attention to small business; encourage private investment in

research, development and technological innovation; promote increase support at all levels of

government for education. If we would just look at the cause like Baily, think about the solution

like Cranston, and be hopeful like Bloomberg, we would be able to find a large-scale solution for

unemployment in our society.

In addition, companies must acknowledge and address issues pertaining to impacts from demographics, societal changes, and work-life balance that keep potential employees, especially minorities and immigrant workers from seeking work and staying with a job. Companies need to consistently review their policies and processes surrounding these factors: solutions that may have been effective in the past may no longer meet employee needs. Attributes such as age, gender, job tenure, and family situations can all contribute to an employee’s ability to perform and meet job expectations .

Employers ultimately must be creative in devising strategies and solutions that

facilitate employee satisfaction, motivation and, ultimately, their ability to perform

their jobs effectively—without compromising the employers’ needs for productivity

and business results. Demographic variables may be useful for companies to

investigate as they strive to develop programs that may appeal to certain groups.

In the end, the objective for all employers is to implement processes and programs

that will help them retain good performers. Many companies throughout the

country are implementing a wide range o f strategies—some are costly while many

others are relatively inexpensive. The smart organizations are realizing that if they

invest in these solutions, they are essentially investing in their employees, which

can result in higher levels of productivity and retention.

In my own observations on the issue of increasing unemployment, it is better to present the whole picture to the people, the good and the bad, and let them make informed decisions about the state of things, especially when it comes to economic matters, because this is the first step to social equality. To present just the bad side like Brooks, and show all the terrible news of the state and the nation without showing the good or a way out is just to steal morale from the people. Bloomberg, on the other hand, being a strong leader will present the hopeful side, in spite of the down ward trends in the economic situation; and by doing so keep up the courage of the people in the face of dark times, and give them strength to work toward the recovery, even if he is not telling the whole story. It appears, however, that a balance educated point of view would be to figure out how we got into this situation and what can be done to get out.