There are more than 4 unemployed people for every open job

[Earth_First]

[varelse]

1. K&R

[SheilaT]

2. Unfortunately, it's really not as straightforward as that.

There are jobs that have dozens, sometimes hundreds of applicants. Others (like nurses) there are in most places more openings than applicants apparently.

The hospital I work for never has fewer than thirty openings for various nurses at any given time.

It matters a lot what kind of job you're looking for.

[Fumesucker]

3. And yet I've heard many complaints on DU about the way nurses are treated..

It seems to me that if employees are in short supply you treat them well in order to retain them at the job..

[JVS]

4. There is always work to be done, but never money to pay good wages...

and treating workers well is just off the table even if it doesn't cost money.

[pschoeb]

5. Your missing the point

The point is that even if you had a magic wand and made all the unemployed capable of doing any job imaginable in any location, there still wouldn't be enough jobs for them to be all employed.

This means, even in an impossible best case scenario they couldn't all "just get a job". The fact that this best case scenario is also impossible just drive the same point further.

[SheilaT]

11. I am not missing the point.

Some people are going to find it almost impossible to ever be employed again, either because their line of work is going away for some reason, or their skill set hasn't kept up, or schools are graduating too many people in their line of work. Paralegals in many areas face that last problem.

Others, such as nurses, are going to have no trouble getting a job.

The reality is that jobs are not interchangeable, your skill set or training does matter. If I were fifteen years younger than I am (63) I would probably get some kind of Associates degree in some health related field. I'd go into nursing (and I know that's a 4 year degree, but the junior college here in Santa Fe offers an RN degree), or maybe medical records. You want to improve your odds, no matter what.

[Laluchacontinua]

7. It IS as straightforward as that. Four unemployed people for every job opening, what's so hard to

understand?

As the other poster said, even if every applicant were superman able to do any job, that would still leave 75% of the unemployed -- still unemployed.

And I'd like to see the job listings of the "hospital you work for," because our local (chain) hospital never has 30 nursing openings at a single time in its entire *system*, which covers several states.

[Horse with no Name]

8. How many of those positions are closed due to attrition? Have you asked that question?

MANY hospitals in this area advertise jobs for nurses--yet internally have hiring freezes.

Nurses too are suffering from lack of jobs in certain parts of the country...and from talking to colleagues across the spectrum...that is NOW more the norm than nursing shortages.

[AsahinaKimi]

6. I wonder if it might not be more than that

Finding Jobs anywhere in the USA is a major task. I am glad to have one, but my employer isn't even American. I had to go outside the country just to get a paycheck.

[LiberalEsto]

12. Unemployed people are counted only if they are

getting unemployment benefits. The real number of people out of work is much, much higher than the bullshit 9% claimed by the government.

I am one of the unemployed who isn't counted.

[Capitalocracy]

9. 4 lazy people you mean.

;)

[athenasatanjesus]

10. Get rid of minimum wage,then they could all work that one job =p

I'm sure that's the planned solution.

[PETRUS]

13. Also

If all the unemployed Americans were hired tomorrow it wouldn't solve the crisis. The US is run by an oligarchy, and the policies they promote do damage beyond domestic economic injustice. Business practices of neoliberal globalists follow the logic of a "race to the bottom" that puts pressure on labor everywhere and leads us towards environmental catastrophe. The US backs up business with a violent, coercive foreign policy that is ruining lives well outside of its border.

[Odin2005]

14. Librul LIES! They are all LAZY BUMS, Rush said so!!!

[tabbycat31]

15. I've had to move for jobs and have long commutes

But that is the nature of my field, and I am facing unemployment come Wednesday (I work on campaigns, election day is Tuesday).

I've already applied for other positions, and they're over 1000 miles away.