this post was submitted on 13 Sep 2023
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Work Reform

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[–] [email protected] 38 points 1 year ago (5 children)

Unemployment needs to jump 40-50%??? Is this guy seriously that utterly disconnected with reality? In Aus it’s never hit more than 12% in the last 4 decades, the economy would just collapse if unemployment got that high. It only got to 32% during the Great Depression in the US.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 year ago

That's the difference between percentage and percentage points. If the unemployment rate were 5% then a 50% increase would make it 7.5%

An increase of 50 percentage points would make it 55%

[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

utterly disconnected with reality

is there another way to accumulate that amount of wealth?

having said that, if unemployment is 10% and he thinks it needs to jump (and not to be 50%) then unemployment would be at 15%

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 year ago

If unemployment is 10%, then the actual amount of people who aren't employed anywhere is 50%. Because the laborforce participation rate is only 60% of the population.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think he means 40 to 50% higher than now. It’s historically quite low at the moment.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It is low now, but also (in the US) the last few administrations played games with how they defined it, mainly by excluding people who had basically given up on finding employment.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

That’s nothing new. That’s how it’s always been defined. I’m not unemployed if I’m not looking for work. Otherwise housewives would be unemployed, disabled people, pensioners, etc.

The one weird part is people transitioning just are counted towards the unemployed numbers even though they have a job coming.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago (2 children)

They expanded the definition 5-10 years ago at various times, which resulted in a lower reported rate.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I was baffled by that comment. Did he mean 40-50% higher or 40-50%. Huge difference.

If I understand his business correctly, that amount of unemployment would cause him to fail

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 year ago

His wording means it should increase 40-50%. Not that it should be 40-50%.

[–] wholeofthemoon 2 points 1 year ago

Do you know what percentages are?