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Show The Enterprise Review , December 29, 1976 Page 9b Rate Could Alter Public Policy rate of unemployment, he adds, they only change the kinds of people who are unemployed. With refined measure of what kinds of are unemployed (their age, sex, race) the rate could be used better as a people policy tool. But these refine- dont particularly the rates adequacy ments change as an economic indicator. Full Employment The ultimate goal of policy changes would be to reach a goal of full employment. But another controversy surrounds this term. What constitutes full employment? Since the Truman administration, full employ- ment has been defined as 4 percent unemployment. But during the Nixon and Ford administrations, Mangum says, the definition was modified upward. When so many women and youth began because, the adminis- tration people holds) who cannot find work. Consequently the rate is quite low. In the United States, currently, the unemployment rate among primary workers is about 2 or 2.5 percent, Job Service estimates, in contrast to the current gross rate of 8.1 the greater danger we have of cost-pus- h induced inflation, when wages rise faster than productivity. One Job Service analyst says the question of full employment isnt so much the definition of the term, as finding the acceptable level of unemployment. He says manpower experts generally agree that at a 4 percent unemployment rate, you may have heard of someone who cant find work. At a 6 percent rate, you probably know someone unemployed. At 9 percent someone in your family is probably unemployed. During the Depression, the rate wras 30 percent. That rate is generally considered politically revolu- reasoned,, these are harder to find work for. The recent Republican administrations also blamed the swelling labor market for increased inflation, Mangum But I dont agree, says. he continued. Most inflation since 1974 has come from international events, not the domestic market. If we had had full employment all these years, we would have been able to counteract international inflation, he maintains. In his recently published Employability, Emand Income, ployment, discourses on the Mangum ramifications of full employbook, ing what the rate actually measures, and protecting the statistical integrity of the rate- itself, Robson says. As a secondary interest, we may be concerned with how the rate is used, and how it might better meet the needs of the users. says. Historically the primary worker has been defined as the man in the family, he explains, but recently a larger number of women have become heads of households. How we define the rate is not as important as know - percent. Many U.S. politicians and economists conisder the primary worker as the only worker. The "important other workers, they say, are driving the unemployment rate up unnecessarily. Thayne Robson disagrees. To restrict unemployment to the primary worker would not be consistent with our belief in equal opportunity and equal rights, he FREE PICKUP & Graphic Design Magnetics & Decals Convention Signage Machine Showcards a 2365 So. Main tionary. In many European coun- tries, the unemployment rate measures only the primary workers (heads of house- - He knows where to take Bank Statistics Available The Commission his lady to dine Dining like in San Francisco . . . New Yoik . . . Paris. Romantic live music enhances your unforgettable evening. Nightly except Sunday. of has Institutions 32nd Biennial its published Report. e The report details the vital statistics about all financial institutions in the state. It includes specific information about financial conditions and key personnel of each institution. For copies, contact the Commission at Financial Drive to the door and leave the parking to us! 136-pag- 533-546- lafleurdelys 1. 338 South State Telephone 359-575- 3 ment. The advantages of full employment include the facts that people looking for The gift of distinction exercise their skills, and that society receives the benefit OIL PAINTINGS work have the opportunity to of increased Since production. 1974 we have been losing our share of S200 billion of goods and services we could have shared with full employment, Mangum And substantial insays. come maintenance payments (unemployment insurance and welfare payments) are taken out of taxes during times of high unemployment, he added. The disadvantages of full employment boil down to one: inflation. potential "What is the cost of full employment, is the question, Mangum says. Thayne Robson, director of University of Utahs Bureau of Business and Economic Research, describes the danger of full employment this way: When more people have jobs, they feel DELIVERY Paper Banners Screen Process entering the labor market, full employment was changed to mean 5 or 5.5 percent, Mangum says, more confident about asking for higher wages. The closer we come to full employment, by nationally & internationally known artists WILLIE BOWER LEROY NEMAN EVA MAKE IRENE BORG BEVERLY CARRICK JOHN STEWART HOMER SPURLOCK BELA BODA HERBERT ISENBERG CARL STRICKER collectors choice or moderately priced youre invited to see our wide selection Jtrl Vk, PAINTINGS AND QJLy FRAMES Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 1 Phone 227 South State 363-494- |