Unemployment Data Evidence

Unemployment has been an issue faced by the United States, along with around the world, for centuries. Unemployment can be the result of several factors and the unemployment rates based on location can vary. But why does location play a factor? What locations could be more promising for finding a job and becoming employed? What location factors increase the unemployment rate? After doing some research on the Kids Count data center, some of these questions may be answered. I started off by researching my home state, Kentucky. For the most part Kentucky is most rural areas with the exception of a few larger cities.  When searching the parental unemployment in 2012 in Kentucky state wide the percentage was 8%. The unemployment rate in the United States for 2012 was about 8.3%. So Kentucky had a lower unemployment rate than the rest of the United States but not by much. Since Kentucky is mainly rural land, there are several people who are employed as farmers, tobacco tenders, horse farm workers, and jobs of that nature. This may be beneficial to Kentucky's unemployment rate is that these types of jobs would not necessarily bring large crowds of hopeful people seeking those jobs. If you run into the situation where there are several people seeking one type of job in one area, they will be some who are unsuccessful in acquiring that job, therefore becoming unemployed. On the other hand, with the lack of more diverse jobs and industry that you would see in larger cities could contribute to the unemployment rate being somewhat high or average.  

Looking more closely at a specific city in Kentucky, Louisville, we can acquire more information. Louisville is one of the largest cities in Kentucky and is a very urban area. In this particular city the unemployment rate in 2012 is 9%. Looking at maps, this is a decrease compared to what it has been but this number is still about the United States average unemployment rate. Why would this be? It seems that in more urban areas, such as louisville, the employment rate seems to be higher. To challenge this I researched the unemployment rates in 2012 for two other large cites. New York cities unemployment rate is also at 9% and Chicago's unemployment rate is at 10%. These are all about the national average and much higher than the unemployment rate of rural areas. The cause of this could be the mass amounts of people with a decreasing amount of jobs. As jobs continue to move overseas, there are less jobs available in the United States. Also people move to larger cities with the assumption that the jobs will be available but that is not always the case, as we can see with these unemployment rates.

The knowledge about unemployment rates and why this could be happening and where is important to be aware of. Many assume that unemployment rates will continue to rise. In order to start preventative measures, we must first know what is the causing factor and where the issue lies. Most people at some point in their lives will begin the journey into the workforce or attempting to be in the workforce. This information applies to us all and should be taken into consideration.

The Sociological Imagination

This morning I woke up around 7am and went to the gym. After the gym I came back to my apartment, showered then had breakfast. I then later went to class and worked on homework. The importance of health and staying in shape has been stressed to me throughout my entire life by family, health professionals and peers. Media and other sources also provide information and support as to why it's important to add physical activity to you daily routine. As apart of the American culture we are taught the importance of showering and personal hygiene. When we don't take care of personal hygiene we receive negative feedback from others. Breakfast is also a pretty regular part of the daily routine in American culture. It is always advertised how important it is to eat breakfast. At home my parents would always cook us breakfast before school while we were younger, so it's something I've become accustomed to. Education is also highly valued in our culture. Education is usually perceived as the main source for providing for yourself and family by allowing you the opportunity to get a successful job. College wasn't really an option in my family, it's just something that happens after you graduate high school. Homework runs closely with going to class because in order to do well, one must complete homework in order to understand the material. Homework is really placed above many other things in importance unlike some other cultures where household duties would be priority.

Things would be quite different in our world if the same importance wasn't placed on being physically active. What if instead it was preferred to not exercise and exude the smallest amount of effort possible when doing anything. People would become lazy and extremely unhealthy leading to an increased amount of obesity. But the less physical work you had to do, the more intelligent people would assume you are for discovering an alternative way. People would find it useless and pointless to waste their time with something so insignificant. On the other hand, would people be less or more insecure with their body type? Would their be less body shamming and body image issues since nobody would be taking care of their outward appearance? It's hard to imagine how different things would be.