Article Review #7

This article focuses on unemployment in the U.S. This article directly correlates with the chapter we read, about unemployment. The article itself was pretty simple to read and understand, and got straight to the point. The author pointed out how the unemployment rate doesn't look so bad because it doesn't account for those who left the labor force, as the participation rate has been steadily declining; the reported unemployment rate, 5.5%, really should be 11.4% if it accounted for discouraged workers. Moreover, the author does an excellent job of showing the larger impacts by showing what the percentages represent in actual values, rather than just showing the rates, which doesn't show the number of people actually impacted. The connections between the chapter and this article were striking as Furchtgott-Roth mentioned the decrease in male labor force participation, and various impacts that may be taking place. She mentions minimum wage, government programs, and such as playing a part in encouraging people to stay at home. I really think learning about the chapter and really becoming familiar with the topic helped make this article such an easy read. The article itself was already short and very straightforward, but knowing the terminology and how all these aspects affected each other really let me actually read into her point.