IPC: Immigrants Not The Source of Unemployment

By Celia Canon- Talk Radio News Service

Recent immigration is not leading to a rise in unemployment of natives in the United States. Such was the conclusion of two reports issued today by the Immigration Policy Center.

The current unemployment rate in April 2009 was 8.9%.

IPC demographer Rob Paral, demographer and Principal of Rob Paral & Associates, said:“There is this talk, allegation, discussion that somehow immigration is a cause of unemployment...(but) there is no direct link between the level off immigration in an area and its unemployment rate.”

The issue has become central in Congress’ scramble for tools to reduce unemployment in the midst of the economic crisis. Understanding the sources of unemployment would provide a better understanding of the strategy to use in order to address this issue.

Paral said: “We understand why it is a concern because we are at historically high levels of unemployment in the U.S and we are also a nation that receives a substantial numbers of immigrants, so people are wondering if there is some kind of connect.”

In order to conduct this study, Paral said, “Let’s look across the United States, at areas of high and low unemployment and let see if there’s any correlation between them and if whether there is a lot or little of recent immigrants in the region.”

Both Paral and Siciliano defined “recent immigrants” as those having moved to the U.S “in the past ten years.”

Paral said that “You have almost identical levels if unemployment in the Pacific states right now in the US as you do in the Midwest (10% unemployment) and yet the Pacific states have a much higher level of recent immigration amongst their workers and among their population as you do in the Midwest.”

Paral thus concluded that “What we are trying to show is that there s this total disconnect with whether you have high unemployment and low immigration.”

Siciliano added that “When you look at the kinds of workers that the immigrants are compared to the unemployed natives, you’re looking at two very different kinds of people in terms of skills and where they live etc...,” suggesting that immigrants are not in fact taking away jobs from the natives.

Navigating through the Road Bumps in the Financial System

By Courtney Ann Jackson-Talk Radio News Service

We can’t let things go back to the way they were with the United States Financial System according to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Monday. Geithner joined Newsweek Magazine editor, Jon Meacham, at a luncheon interview on the topic of the recession and what American’s should expect as the steps to recovery continue to be put into action.

“This is still the most challenging economic crisis that this country has seen in generations. It took a long time for these problems to build up," Geithner said. "It’s going to take time for us to work through them. We’re not going to have a steady, even process of repair, it’s going to be bumpy, still feel fragile for a while.”

Geithner expressed his sympathy for struggling Americans and said he understands why Americans are angry. He said that even as growth inevitably begins to turn positive, unemployment will continue to increase for awhile. He also said, “It’s not going to feel better for a long time for millions of Americans.”

As the administration continues to work its way through this economic crisis, Geithner believes they need to take a “fresh look” at the financial system as a whole. In terms of speed and quality of initiative that are already in progress, he said he thinks the administration is doing well.

“The American people want to see us moving to change things, not just waiting and hoping,” he said.

Meacham asked Geithner about people’s critique that the administration was being too lenient. Geither replied, “I actually think that what the President has put in place is the most aggressive approach to solving a financial crisis than we’ve seen from any serious country in a very long period of time.”

He also noted that they are doing more preventative work and referred to it as a type of insurance from a greater recession. They are working to make the system more stable and plan to release a new set of proposals in the next few weeks for reforming the oversight framework.

Obama Wants You to Go Back to School

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

President Barack Obama
Photo by Michael Ruhl

Today President Barack Obama announced a new effort to stimulate tomorrow’s economy by reviving higher education through expanding Pell Grants and removing barriers to success. The public face for his new initiative is to be Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice-President Joe Biden and Community College Professor.

Obama’s plan, detailed at opportunity.gov, would help the unemployed go back to school to build new skill sets, with the goal of helping them gain future employment through specialized technical training.

“The idea here is to fundamentally change our approach to unemployment in this country, so that it’s no longer just a time to look for a new job, but is also a time to prepare yourself for a better job,” Obama said. “Our unemployment system should be not just a safety net, but a stepping stone to a new future.”

Among the barriers to success that the President wants to break down are state programs in which a worker might lose temporary financial support if they were to enroll in an education program. Obama said that in some places a worker may be unemployed, but may not qualify for federal assistance to get an education because of the salary they had a year ago but no longer make. The President said that he is committed to working with states to change these laws.

The President said that knowledge is the most valuable skill that one can sell. He encouraged all Americans to aim for getting at least 1 year of higher education, whether it is a community college, a four year school, vocational training or an apprenticeship.

“By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world,” Obama said optimistically.

This announcement came on the same day as the release of April’s unemployment statistics, which saw the loss of more than half a million jobs. The unemployment rate for April was 8.9 percent, up from 8.5 percent in March and 8.1 percent in February. April's numbers have already surpassed both the White House's and the Federal Reserve's projections for all of 2009, which were 8.1 percent and 8.8 percent, respectively.

Acknowledging that unemployment is as its highest rate in 25 years, the President urged patience, reminding us that the economic problems didn’t happen overnight, and couldn’t be fixed immediately.

“We’re still in the midst of a recession that was years in the making and will be months or even years in the unmaking,” Obama said. He continued, “We should expect further job losses in the months to come.”

Obama said that the Economic Stimulus Package is yielding real results, manifest in higher consumer spending and home sales, and an increase in construction spending. He praised the Recovery Act, and said, “Because of this plan, cops are still on the beat and teachers are still in the classroom; shovels are breaking ground and cranes dot the sky; and new life has been breathed into private companies.”

Fixing the economy and reforming education are two goals Obama has set for his administration. He said that in the weeks to come he would start working towards more education initiatives.

Website helps youth say "NO" to debt

by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service

A new health and financial site focused towards young adults from ages 18-34, gives resources and information that they won’t learn in school.

Anna Greenburg, the Senior Vice President of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, said that younger people are suffering worse from the economic situation than older people except in regard to retirement and investment income because they don’t have any.

“Even though this recession is affecting everybody the way it affects young people has the potential impact to affect what their financial lives look like 20, 30 and 40 years from now.”

Greenburg also said that younger people are facing the highest unemployment rate out of every group.

“You got sort of a double whammy with younger people. Their both more likely to be unemployed, more likely to work part time and if you work part time, more likely to have your hours cut back and your wages cut.”

In the study “Young People: Trying to Weather a Recession” conducted by Greenburg Quinlan Rosner Research and Qvisory.org, 19% of young adults say they are unemployed or looking for work compared to only 7% of adults ages 30 and over.

The study also found that in 2008, 37% of young people reported having more than $5,000 in debt, excluding amounts from mortgages and student loans.

A new website called Qvisory.org, that was launched in October 2008, is hoping to provide resources and information for young adults that they are not learning in the classrooms.

Gina Glantz, the Qvisory Treasurer said that America’s younger generation is in jeopardy.

“They don’t feel well represented in the halls of power and they like most Americans have grown to distrust their financial institution.”

Glantz said that now more than ever young adults need guidance because they are suffering the most.

“They need trusted resources and a navigation system to help them secure their health and financial well being and have a chance at the American dream.”

Qvisory is a non-profit organization that has a $36 per year membership fee that includes services like the distribution of pre-paid cards, a COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act) information center, a low-cost dental insurance program, a combination of employee assistance programs, and free telephone and online services.

“There is a no more important time for young people to find the resources and information they need to survive the situation they find themselves in,” concluded Glantz.

Unemployment high in March, Officials say

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

A day after President Barack Obama's budget was passed by a Congress boiling with partisanship, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing unemployment at its highest since 1983. There are now 13.2 million Americans out of work.

The pouring rain in Washington mirrored the sobered mood in the room, as the Joint Economic Committee heard the testimony of Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

March was one of the worst Months on record for unemployment, and when asked outright, Hall told the committee that there were no "bright spots" in the report.

National unemployment climbed to 8.5 percent in March, rising from the level of 8.1 percent in February and 7.6 percent in January.

Hall said that two-thirds of the job loss has happened in the past 5 months. Every state is in recession for the first time in 30 years, according to Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).

Official unemployment numbers do not encompass underemployed Americans or those who have officially left the workforce. It is reported that 16 percent of the country is out of work or underemployed. One in four of those unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and of those, half have been looking for work for over a year, Hall said.

Maloney highlighted that last month, 8,000 jobs were lost in the news publishing industry. Those losses total 70,000 job cuts since Dec. 2007, Hall said, adding that most job losses have been see in the manufacturing, construction, and temporary services industries. The only area to see any growth in March was the Healthcare industry, Hall said.

Ranking Committee member Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA) noted that the impact of the ongoing recession was not severe for almost a year after it began in December 2007. Brownback attributed recent dramatic jumps in job losses over the past five months to the lockup in the credit markets and the government bailouts that followed.

The Federal Reserve believes that unemployment will peak at 8.8 percent this year, but Ranking House Committee Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said that the unemployment rate is already higher than what the administration anticipated for 2009. Brady said that the Obama Administration's "optimistic assumptions" would not get the country out of its current mess.

President Obama’s Economic Stimulus package was passed by Congress earlier this year, and saw an unprecedented amount of money placed into public works meant to put people back to work. Obama has pledged the legislation will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years.

Read the report here: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report