Why You're Thinking About Unemployment Wrong

WTF is Unemployment?

Unemployment is a bigger deal than any of us realize. If you dive into the economics of it you’ll see why politicians and news anchors are always freaking out about it. Here’s my best explanation in 15 minutes.

About:
Johnny Harris is an Emmy-winning independent journalist and contributor to the New York Times. Based in Washington, DC, Harris reports on interesting trends and stories domestically and around the globe, publishing to his audience of over 3.5 million on Youtube. Harris produced and hosted the twice Emmy-nominated series Borders for Vox Media. His visual style blends motion graphics with cinematic videography to create content that explains complex issues in relatable ways.

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[EconomicsExplained]

Johnny Harris is explaining macroeconomics now.

It looks like I am about to get a practical lesson in unemployment.

[MiroslawHorbal]

"Humans aren't baguettes" - Johnny Harris

That's the hard hitting investigatory journalism I subscribe for

[PlayedbyInstinct]

When I visited Japan and South Korea I was struck by the sheer number of people employed by the government doing seemingly pointless jobs. I saw heavy overemployment in most customer service roles (at museums, railway stations, galleries, etc etc.). People just standing in empty rooms all day, answering a question that could be answered with a simple sign. Or people whose job it was to press the elevator button. It was bizarre to see in action, but I recognised it was a form of social support. I guess it's a good thing

[ThEgamingGINJ]

Most annoying thing when I was unemployed during covid was hearing people say all these places to me that are hiring like I hadn’t already tried there, plus the amount of job applications submitted compared to jobs is like 1/100 so you have all these overqualified people at minimum wage jobs

[fluffehmonster]

Johnny Harris! You hit me right in the heart for the Underemployment!

I left my job as a pharmacist on 2020 and because I couldn't find a new job, I started to work as a Mandarin Tutor to kids! It was difficult to do something that is not in my field, but I enjoyed the journey.

But now, I am back to the pharmacist job starting tomorrow! Finally not underemployed anymore!

[josh.ben.s.]

As an economist, I appreciate you taking the time to simplify a lot of these concepts that most times we tend to overcomplicate.

[engwedujesse]

This video really hit hard. Graduated with two degrees at the height of the pandemic. Been underemployed since and have failed to secure a job in my profession. What's worse and I don't know if it applies for everyone else, it's been a while since I checked in with what I did at campus and I've begun to forget how to do it. Really don't know how I will fit into an office when I finally get a job, if I get a job.

[canibeaninja]

A very successful entrepreneur came to my college and told us this

"Companies always refer to people as resource, they always say get more resource.I know Its twisted but its true"
This video makes me understand why that came to be.

Thank you for the Informative video as always Johnny!

[proyectocultural]

"The vastness of human experience doesn't always coordinate perfectly with the immediate needs of a market." Yessss, Johnny Harris 🙌

[sebastianbacchi]

Would be interesting if you did one on Brexit, and explaining how that went down and what the situation is looking like today and what it holds for the future. Constantly get asked by colleagues about Brexit and it’s future implications. Love your videos!

[Sinklebarn]

The more homeless Johnny looks, the better the content

[lydia]

Thank you for mentioning unpaid caregivers. Our labor does have economic value, even if we have to check "unemployed" on all the forms. 🙄

[rainbowcity]

i got a new job with an at will contract. left my old job. they hired a bunch of us and let all of us go. they hired everyone that applied just to fire and replace them when they found someone with more experience. Basically they were always hiring because they were always replacing. It really fucked up my bank account and couldn’t pay my bills and ect.

[therchas]

I've also learned that the official unemployment rate doesn't include lots of people who are actively looking for a job, but haven't applied to one in the last 30 days. it also doesn't include all kinds of people due to small little rules.

[Keraruggles]

Thanks for touching, even briefly, on unpaid workers that contribute profoundly to the economy like parents and children caring for elderly parents. Ive been screaming this into the void for almost 25 years now. Would love a video on this. The money an at-home parent saves the government and even the private sector is mind boggling. From medicaid to the justice system to healthcare. Wouldnt change the choices ive made, but boy i wish it hadnt required so much sacrifice and was valued by the culture at large.

[liz]

This video hit home for me. I was laid off partially from the pandemic, and also from the company I worked for changing hands. I wasn't willing to move states away for an incredibly stressful job that I hated. I refuse to go back to a situation where I am continually stressed out at a job that I despise. And now, despite having a degree, I cannot find a job a few years later. I still remain hopeful, but the existential dread is always there in the background. I'm incredibly thankful for my spouse for keeping us afloat. It's a tough "job market" right now.

[WheelEstate]

16:31 You hit the nail on the head. That's why I hate when people are like, "Be so good that they can't ignore you, innovate your business, etc." They act like we're in a vacuum and can completely control everything we experience.

[kristiw.]

Thank you for bringing up the complex factors of employment. It has driven me nuts watching my 21 year old, honors college grad, find her first professional job. Particularly while every news program on this subject seems to rave about the unprecedented low unemployment rate. It's not as easy as "get a degree and get a job." Very talented humans, with much to give, might also have physical or mental health challenges that limit what jobs they can take or where they can move to.

I'd love it if you could cover the impact of AI on this issue, too. AI as gate keeper is something of a nightmare for job seekers.

[JoshWalker]

Hopefully, Johnny is neither underemployed nor overworked, because he seems to be doing the lord's work and teaching a lot of stuff that probably should have been taught in high school (and, usually, IS taught in high school, just not very well) in 15 - 30 minute videos. I hope the algorithm pays you well, because you are doing a great service to humanity my guy.

[yuriserigne]

you should explain more, why people are even losing their jobs:
big companies make huge profits, but when the huge profit is slightly less huge, they get rid of people instead of using their huge profits to prevent this unemployment cycle.