Tyler Schipper, economist and associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas, spoke on WCCO Radio about the effects of the government shutdown regarding unemployment rates and the struggling job market.
From the interview:
Host: It’s sort of a staggering number of people when you look at the United States and here in Minnesota. The “long-term unemployed,” they call it, the state measure. They say it nearly doubled since last year. More than 21,000 folks. I guess if you have a job, keep it, right?
Schipper: The takeaway right now is this is a reflection of a labor market that’s not very dynamic. With people who have jobs, we’re not seeing a lot of firing, but it’s also really hard to break into a new job. And so if you have a job, you can thank your lucky stars.
If you’re struggling to find one, know that you’re not alone in that. There are a lot of people who are struggling to find that next job, and there have been some changes in who those people are as well. College graduates are much more likely than in the past to be struggling to find a job, and that’s probably AI affects. Plus the fact that there are not a lot of entry-level jobs open right now because of that lack of dynamism in the labor market.
