Skip to content Back to Blog. Why Do Workers Become Discouraged? Apart from the obvious frustration of not being able to secure employment, here are some common causes of worker discouragement: Prolonged Job Search: Oftentimes, discouraged workers have been seeking employment for months — perhaps even years. Discrimination: Job seekers may face discrimination during the application and hiring process that ultimately discourages them from continuing their job search.
Even employers who want to build a diverse workforce may inadvertently discriminate in the recruitment process. How Discouraged Workers Affect the Labor Market During recessions and economic downturns, the number of discouraged workers tends to increase as more workers become discouraged by a decreasing labor market. Related: How to Measure Workforce Productivity Proposed Solutions to Help Discouraged Workers While policymakers play an important role in helping discouraged workers, employers and workforce development professionals can also do their part.
Below, here are some commonly suggested solutions to reduce the number of discouraged workers: Use technology to overcome traditional employment barriers.
Workforce development software can help stakeholders employers, organizations, educational institutions, governments, etc. Many discouraged workers currently lack the skills they need to secure employment. Policymakers could implement paid-for training programs that help workers acquire the skills they need to advance in their careers.
Provide subsidies for employment opportunities. Subsidized employment programs are another potential strategy to help discouraged workers find employment. Discouraged workers usually have given up on searching for a job because they found no suitable employment options or failed to secure a job when they applied. The U. As discouraged workers are no longer looking for employment, they are not counted as active in the labor force. This means that the headline unemployment rate , which is based solely on the active labor force number, does not take into account the number of discouraged workers in the country.
The causes for worker discouragement are complex and varied. In some cases, workers fall out of the workforce because they are not equipped to deal with technological change in their workplace.
An example of this occurred during the Great Recession , when the manufacturing sector shed senior staff unable to work on the new computer numeric control CNC machines, used for cutting wood and other hard materials, according to a report by The Washington Post. Other possible reasons for discouraged workers include restrictions that limit employment options for formerly incarcerated individuals and jobs that are perceived as being inaccessible to a specific gender.
The number of discouraged workers in the U. To better analyze unemployment in the U. U-4, U-5, and U-6 capture discouraged workers. At the close of , the U-4 rate, seasonally adjusted, was 3. Fast forward a year to December , and the U-4 rate, seasonally adjusted, was 7.
Figures from were significantly impacted by that year's economic crisis. Still, the current U-4 number is not as bad as the annual average, which stood at 9. The U-4 rate helps to quantify how many discouraged workers exist and keep tabs on the change in their numbers. Further analysis of age groups, race, and geographic location is also made possible by U-4 measures.
Policymakers at federal, state and local levels can use these numbers to formulate plans to assist them. Such plans may consist of training programs, education subsidies , or tax credits for companies that hire long-term unemployed individuals. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Time Magazine.
Brookings Institution. An Inquiry into the Decline of the U. Labor Force Participation Rate. Prison Policy Initiative. International Labour Organization. For example, "discouraged" workers who would like a job, but who have given up looking, will be counted as out of the labor force, although their situation looks more like unemployment.
So how many discouraged workers are there? Actually, the same survey that is used to count the unemployed can also be used to count "discouraged workers. The bottom line shows the number of discouraged workers fluctuated around , from up to about a little higher in the aftermath of the and recessions, a little lower other times.
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