I would hope discouraged workers and their families are comfortable.


I don't know how wide-scale this is, but I've been hiring workers individually for home improvement projects that once worked in the housing industry. They now are 'free-lance' and do a variety of jobs that previously they could not do because of site regulations. I'm having extensive work done on the bathroom in my home in Indiana including new flooring, electrical wiring, installation of a new shower and tub system, dry walling and moving a wall, plumbing, carpentry work installing built in shelves and vanity, ceramic tiling, etc. and if the people already hired can't do it, they know enough guys out of work to call to get the other jobs done. This is a very very small sample but very few of those guys have intentions of going back to the type of work they were doing before, or working for anyone else again.

 

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When people stop actively looking for jobs its bad. I went out with a woman who was out of work for two years and then finally her unemployment insurance ran out and she was too proud to move back with her parents and rent her condo for income. Instead she was just trying to sell her condo.

People must be forced to look for work on unemployment insurance

 

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Exactly, and they never do. That's why they have 0 relevance. Hence -

The very first word in the article made me and dismiss it as twaddle.

Show some other slightly reputable media, with some sourcing, and then it's worth discussing.

 

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I think it's pretty common for construction, given the huge excess of construction workers in the market and the fact that it's pretty easy to freelance if you have your own tools and can manage to get licensed / bonded. I know a few people who have gone that route, too. Still, I'd like to see more unemployment programs focus on small business ownership rather than just giving you money for putting in a few applications each week. It seems like a no-brainer from an economic perspective to grow the work force instead of paying someone to wait around for an employer to make a job for you.

 

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