Unemployment Rates

Are you wondering why so many people are filing bankruptcy? Unemployment is one of the key factors in why someone will file bankruptcy. In December of 2006 the unemployment rate was 4.5% and then climbed even higher to 4.6% for the national average by the end of January 2007. Regional unemployment rates for December 2006 were: West 4.5%, South 4.3%, Midwest 5.0% and Northwest 4.4%. Bureau of Labor and Statistics To add to the woes Sprint is laying off 5,300 workers nationwide, Motorola is laying off 3,500 workers, Alcatel-Lucent is laying off 3,500 workers, Nortel is laying off 3,900 workers, Circuit City is closing 69 stores nationwide and ABN Amro Mortgage will layoff 3,500 employees worldwide.

The one central reason of why each of the above listed companies are laying off is because the economy is NOT performing effectively. The economy is a fluid dynamic, simply this means when one factor changes all other factors regarding the economy will also change. Meaning that if a section of the population loses their job their overall spending goes down because they have no money to spend. When the overall spending level decreases the Seller of goods has to raise prices in order to maintain their profit margin because not as many people are buying their products. Another way the Seller can attempt to maintain their profit margin is to cut their production cost which in turn may lead to job layoffs. The increase in job layoffs leads to decrease spending which leads to decrease profit margins and the dog continues to chase his tail. Economics is by far not an easy subject to digest but it is a subject that everyone needs to devote more attention in learning about how it affects our daily lives.

In today’s world it would serve you well to prepare for this ever changing economy by analyzing what is happening in your job environment. Is your company doing well? Is your employer starting to nit pick everything you do? Are you indispensable or are you just like every other worker? Now is the time to take action and protect your future and not become the next statistic on the government’s unemployment graph. Maybe that means increasing your job skills, being pro-active in seeking out a more stable job or maybe that means starting your own business. Whatever it maybe be proactive, stay informed and take control.