The Fight Against Unemployment

The Fight against Unemployment

I. Introduction

Unemployment is a problem that each society faces, and each society must find a way to beat it. The Conservatives believe that a pro-active stance to ensure that the economy remains sound is better than simply passively looking at what's happening. We believe the Government needs to shape the economic environment using the correct tools to ensure that there are enough jobs and that the economy is growing. It is a fact of life that the Government has an effect on the economy, and we know the outcome of excessive intervention. We also know the dangers of absolutely no active intervention as well. The compassionate Conservative solution to this puzzle is to state that the middle ground is best. The kind of intervention that is needed is the kind of intervention that gives more freedom to economic agents by giving them the information or the skills they need to be successful. Perfect competition is only possible in a model, but that does not mean that the Government should not strive to ensure that it exists. The Government has a role to play on job creation, because there are causes for lack of jobs and economic stagnation that the Government can help to solve with sensible economic policies. "The Fight against Unemployment" is one of the most important fights any Government faces, and it is a fight a Conservative government intends to win.

“This Conservative party, this Government, we want to make a difference for Britain. We want to create a Britain where people have a job they enjoy and feel proud of. We want people to feel as if they’re making a valuable contribution to society by putting in a day’s hard work.” -- Archie Gillespie

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II. Two Kinds of Unemployment II.1. Frictional Unemployment Frictional unemployment is not permanent; there is unemployment because of the current conjecture, not because of the underlying system. For example, a person who just came into the job market and does not have a job because he hasn't yet found one, that is a form of frictional unemployment. The economy is able to create jobs, but people don't immediately fill them for a wide variety of reasons, and there are jobs to be taken for people to work in. II.2. Structural Unemployment Structural unemployment does not just occur because of the current conjecture; it exists because the system is unable to create enough jobs that people can work in. This may mean not creating enough jobs full stop, not creating jobs that leave part of the population without the possibility to work, particularly because they have different skills from those needed in the job market.

III. Key Causes of Unemployment There are many causes for unemployment, and it is vital that we understand them all to be effective in combating this great social evil. Only by offering solutions to tackle the causes of unemployment can we really solve the problem; treating the symptoms is not enough and will have the same effect as a painkiller: you numb the pain but the problem doesn’t go away and, what’s more worrying, painkillers are addictive, and so are solutions for the symptoms of unemployment as opposed to the causes. The vicious effect thus created means that you will have more and more unemployment and you will never do anything about it because “it doesn’t hurt” and then, suddenly, one day it does “hurt”, and there’s little to be done about it. III. 1. Recessions When the economy is not growing, then jobs aren't being created and unemployment rises. Combating recessions is done through a prudent fiscal policy that includes incentives to invest and to spend money, including lower taxation and interest rates. An independent Bank of England would keep an eye on interest rates to ensure inflation does not rise too much and bring the United Kingdom back to the days of stagflation. Recessions are a reason why Conservatives want sustainable growth with a prudent fiscal policy. Recklessness in public finances means that a recession strikes harder and does a lot more damage. We will follow a policy line designed to ensure that the economy is growing and creating jobs, as outlined in the Conservative manifesto, and that means that if the world economy takes a turn for the worse, we are ready to deal with it and the blow will be softened. III. 2. Over-Regulation Over-regulation is an important cause for unemployment. Too much burden on a business’ shoulders and that business cannot afford to expand and, with its expansion, to create more jobs. Because of this, if you are unemployed, it will be

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almost impossible for you to find work, and this will be especially critical for students and for anyone who finds him or herself out of work when they are middle aged. There is too much paperwork involved to do anything; there are too many regulations that stifle job creation efforts. This leads to a two-tier system, usually, with those who are already employed having a job for life, and those who do not have a job are unable to find anything, and are forced to live on welfare. There are too few job offers for the demand, a shortage that leads to poverty and chronic unemployment. This means that adding burdens to the economy will not create new jobs. It will, in fact, make the amount of new jobs being created decrease. France has an unemployment rate of about 9.1% and has not been able to tackle it. The British current unemployment rate is around 7.4%. The French system therefore yields a higher unemployment rate than the British system does, and it seems clear that the unemployment is structural in France. Importing a system that results in higher unemployment rates doesn’t help anybody and leads to stagnation, rather than job creation. The Conservatives therefore reject the French system, because they believe that working within the current framework of freedom and entrepreneurship does not suffer from being bogged down by paperwork and consequently has a far better job creation factor. III.3. Skills To be able to handle a certain job, a person needs a set number of skills. If the person does not have the skills for a job, then he or she either gets training or he or she is unable to get that job. When the types of jobs in a certain area change, then people without the right skills are either able to move to a different area or they are unable to find work. In the meantime, these new jobs are filled up with new people, who do have the skills these require. A technology shift can lead to this sort of unemployment, which is structural in nature. The wrong approach to this problem would be to keep the old jobs going forever, because that situation is unsustainable. A lot of money will be spent and the people get to keep their jobs, but they are not given the possibility to improve their situation. Furthermore, the British economy loses competitiveness because we will be producing goods that consumers don’t want. Being unable to sell those goods, the people producing them need more help from the Government; they would become dependent on Government funds. Their freedom would be taken away from them and the economy would stagnate. Both of these outcomes are not satisfactory and hurt the British population. The way to solve this issue is through training. This means a Government needs to ensure that there are training opportunities for the people. One way is to give incentives to companies to train their employees in-house, and a good incentive to achieve this outcome is to make expenses with training at least partially tax deductible. But not just for businesses. Giving people the opportunity to deduct from their own taxes the expenses they make to improve themselves is also a simple, but worthwhile, initiative. The effects of this policy on job creation are maximised because businesses, not the Government, know what skills they need, and businesses are the ones creating jobs. Naturally, the situation of those who, due to important concerns, perhaps related to age will be taken into consideration when drawing up the plan.

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III.4. Lack of Information A source of unemployment that cannot be overlooked is the lack of information about available jobs. If people don’t know that jobs are there, then they will not take them. It is also important that, when people do know about possible employment opportunities for them, they are able to take them. Dissemination of information is fundamental in any market, and in the job market it is fundamental as well. The obvious solution for this problem is to be able to bring information to the people who need it. Job centres do that, and the more efficient they are, the more effective they are. The Conservatives have already computerised the job centre administration services; we now want to put computers for the unemployed to use. Full computerisation of job centres will ensure that the information is where it is needed and will ensure that the people who need to find it are able to find it quickly and effectively.

IV. Create Your Own Business One solution for unemployment is to make it easier for people to start their own business. It is not mandatory for a person who is sacked to be put on welfare, and nor is it compulsory that someone has to work for someone else his or her entire life. Small businesses form an invaluable part of our economy and the Conservatives feel that encouraging people without work to create their own jobs is a good way to combat unemployment. We will approach local colleges to see if they are interested in running special business courses for people who want to create their own business and want a few notions about management. These courses would be taught by local businessmen, who would be paid to do so. People who take these courses get a diploma and also a loan to create their own business. The loan is interest-free and is repaid in a flexible way, with many options available. Applicants who do not take the course may get a loan as well.

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V. Conclusion "The Fight against Unemployment" is a battle that must be fought tooth-and-nail. The plan that has been outlined is designed to tackle the most important causes of unemployment comprehensively and thoroughly, and it will be adapted to the needs of each region, with a priority to depressed areas where it is most needed. It is a real plan with real, concrete proposals to tackle unemployment, and only the Conservatives can be trusted to do just that. This plan takes into account the needs of the people and takes into account basic economic principles to ensure that people get what they want: a job. We give you a free market with retraining possibilities, and an efficient way to get the information you need about jobs. We give you the opportunity and the knowledge you need to create your own business. We thoroughly go through the problems and present solutions, a strategy in our fight against unemployment. This strategy will create good jobs for Britons, and it will do so because it doesn't over-regulate our economy, because it remains true to all the important principles that made Britain great. Our entrepreneurial spirit and our ability to work hard set us apart and it will ultimately be these two key attributes of the British way of life that will solve the problem of unemployment, with an important push given by these proposals.

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