We all read the headlines and see the news, there are over 14 million Americans still seeking jobs. Most economists have said that it is going to take employers to start adding hundreds of thousands of jobs their payrolls each and every month to begin reducing the unemployment numbers. Unfortunately, that number that employers are actually hiring is very small.
This past June we only added 18,000 jobs in this stagnant economy and the outlook doesn't seem to be much better. The July jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics comes out this Friday and there isn't a lot of optimism.
What is interesting is that many big companies are reporting to their stockholders that business is improving. However, that is not translating into new jobs at these companies. Surveys have indicated that many of these large businesses expect to increase sales in the next 6 months. But only about half of them will be adding any jobs during that growth.
Here are the reasons why unemployment will continue to be high:
1.Businesses are not going to hire because they don't have to. Big business found out that they could do more with fewer personnel. Worker productivity is at an all-time high and many workers are glad to do it just to keep their jobs.
2.Many companies aren't willing to be the first to add jobs. They are sitting back and waiting on their competition to add jobs first.
3.Unfortunately most companies that have added jobs are doing so overseas and not here.
4.Many companies are seeing the business grow overseas with more projects. A recession here means less business.
5.Some companies just don't want to take on the added taxes or health care expenses of new employees, especially with health care reform starting up.
6.We as consumers who are not buying big ticket items such as cars are causing unemployment.
7.And the last reason is that many businesses had a hard time laying off employees the last time and don't want to go through that nightmare again.
So there you have it, the reasons why many of our fellow Americans are stuck sitting at home not working. Is anything going to change in the near future? Only the crystal ball knows for sure; however, I wouldn't bet my job on it.