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Unemployment in Arizona
The economy in the state of Arizona is ever changing. Its constant fluctuations
cause dramatic effects on the everyday lives of Arizona citizens. A steady rise of the
unemployment rate has been one of those effects. Unemployment insurance benefits
provide temporary financial assistance to workers unemployed through no fault of their
own as long as the Arizona's eligibility requirements are met (Benefits.gov) In order to
qualify for an unemployment benefit program the citizen must be a resident of the state of
Arizona, have worked in the past twelve to eighteen months, and must have earned at
least a minimum amount of wages, determined by Arizona guidelines. The citizen must
also be able to work and be available for work each week that they are collecting
benefits. As of December 2013, the unemployment rate in the state of Arizona was at
7.6% while the United States unemployment rate was at 6.7% (Arizona Unemployment).
Unemployment can be measured in many ways. Each month, the Arizona Department of
Commerce releases an official unemployment rate. The traditional state unemployment
number, people who say they are unemployed and actively looking for work, is
calculated from responses to the monthly federal Current Population Survey, but made
more precise by using local data that helps adjust for the small sample size. The monthly
national survey includes about 60,000 households, about 1,000 of them in Arizona (Local
Area Unemployment). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also compiles an
unemployment rate for Arizona, which is based only on the survey given. Full-time
students and students who work part time are not part of the unemployment rate.
Although the Arizona unemployment rate is above average, there are multiple types and
theories of the causes.

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One of the most common types of unemployment is frictional unemployment.

Frictional unemployment is the time period between jobs when a worker is searching for,
or transitioning from one job to another. This can be related to payment, attitude, skills,
work time, location, taste, and a multitude of other factors. Graduating students and
former homemakers can also suffer from frictional unemployment. Structural
unemployment has two different categories, one being occupational immobility, which is
the difficulty in learning new skills in the work force. Structural unemployment also
includes geographical immobility, which is the difficulty in getting a job in different
regions. Technological change could be another reason for unemployment. Classical
unemployment occurs when wages for a job cause the number of job seekers to exceed
the number of job vacancies. Voluntary unemployment happens when people choose to
remain unemployed instead of taking the jobs that are available. And lastly, cyclical
unemployment occurs when there is not enough demand in the economy to provide jobs
for everyone who wants to work. Unemployment has an effect on all citizens of Arizona,
with no exclusions of gender, race, or age.

When it comes to political debate, unemployment is usually a hot issue.

Democrats tend to promote jobless aid and an extension of benefits. Democrats believe
that unemployment insurance helps stimulate the economy. Those who are unemployed
use the money to buy basics, including shelter, food, and clothing. As a result, every

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dollar spent on unemployment benefits stimulates $1.64 in economic demand, according

to a Moody's Economy.com study. According to a study conducted by the Congressional
Budget Office, every $1 billion spent in unemployment benefits creates 19,000 jobs. And,
of course, people dont choose to be jobless. Although this can be continuously
debated, Democrats believe that people dont abuse the system, while Republicans
usually believe the opposite. Republicans are notorious for cutting unemployment
benefits, believing that theyre simply motivating those who are jobless to search faster
and harder. Along with cutting the benefits themselves, Republicans cut the number of
weeks the benefits are dispersed and try to shorten the amount of time that a citizen can
receive benefits. Republicans believe that unemployment insurance is an abuse of
government money that can be properly spent elsewhere and that unemployment benefits
are an incentive to citizens to remain unemployed.

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Works Cited
Arizona Unemployment. (n.d.). Arizona State Unemployment Rate and Total
Unemployed. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from
http://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemploy
Benefits.gov - Arizona Unemployment Insurance. (n.d.). Benefits.gov - Arizona
Unemployment Insurance. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from
http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1688
Causes of Unemployment. (n.d.).Economics Help. Retrieved February 4, 2014, from
http://www.economicshelp.org/macroecon
Local Area Unemployment Statistics Home Page. (n.d.). U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Retrieved February 4, 2014, from http://www.bls.gov/lau/
Unemployment Demographics. (n.d.).Department of Numbers. Retrieved February 4,
2014, from http://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemploy