The Full Employment Myth: Alternative Solutions to Unemployment.

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  • Author(s): Jones, Loring
  • Source:
    Social Work. Jul92, Vol. 37 Issue 4, p359-364. 6p.
  • Additional Information
    • Subject Terms:
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    • Abstract:
      This article discusses the alternative solutions to unemployment. The level of employment that constitutes full employment has been a matter of debate. The first foray by the United States into a full employment policy was the passage of the Employment Act of 1946, which deliberately left the term undefined because the framers of the law could not agree on a definition of full employment. The current definition of full employment used by government economists is 6 percent unemployment, a figure criticized by many, including social workers, as being too high. Setting a targeted unemployment rate and developing a program to reach that number is further complicated by the fact that the official unemployment rate is just the "tip of the iceberg." The successful industrialized countries of the West and Asia have produced an economic expansion that has improved the standard of living while reducing the need for labor largely through technology. Countries that have lagged behind in the application of technology to the workplace have found that their industries have become less competitive.