INFORMATION

 **INFORMATION:**

 BOGOTA, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Unemployment in Colombian cities averaged 11.4 percent in full 2007, the government statistics agency said on Thursday. No comparison figure was given for the full year but urban unemployment in the Andean country fell to 10.3 percent in December alone from 12.8 percent in December 2006. Colombia's economy has picked up momentum under President Alvaro Uribe, who won re-election in 2006 after cutting crime and spurring investment with his U.S.-backed crackdown on drug-running leftist rebels. The vast majority of jobs in Colombia are found in the cities as hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from the countryside by violence related to the country's four-decade-old insurgency. (Reporting by Nelson Bocanegra, writing by Hugh Bronstein Editing by Diane Craft)

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 * Cali **
 * Uribe y gremios del Valle se reúnen hoy **

**Por Francy Elena Chagüendo, Colprensa**


 *  || [[image:http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/fotos_notas/ACB213mayo-09n1,photo01.jpg]]  ||  ||

**El Comité Intergremial presentará plan de reactivación al Mandatario. ** <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">

Los gremios del Valle del Cauca presentarán hoy al presidente Álvaro Uribe Vélez una propuesta de reactivación económica para la región, que pasa por soluciones de infraestructura, seguridad y justicia.

Según el presidente del Comité Intergremial, Germán Jaramillo, una de las mayores preocupaciones de los vallecaucanos es el incremento de la tasa de desempleo, que al primer trimestre cerró por encima de 14%, dato superior al promedio nacional.

Explicó que el sector de la construcción viene decayendo, lo mismo que la industria y otros generadoresimportantes de trabajo, lo que evidencia que la crisis sí está tocando a la región, que requiere medidas contracíclicas urgentes.

La población desocupada en Cali aumentó en el primer trimestre en 39.269 personas frente a igual período del 2008, mientras que la ciudad generó 15.700 puestos de trabajo. la región (Cali, Buenaventura y Buga), que permitirán atraer nueva inversión en el área de servicios.

Según la Andi Valle, una de las peticiones al Gobierno Nacional es que se mantenga la estabilidad jurídica para que el aparato productivo se reactive, sostenga el El jefe de estudios económicos del Banco de la República en Cali, Julio Escobar Potes, explicó que la fuerza laboral en la capital vallecaucana está aumentando más que la disponibilidad de empleo, en especial porque la población inactiva —que pueden ser amas de casa o estudiantes— ha salido en busca de nuevos ingresos.

Entre las iniciativas gremiales que serán presentadas hoy al Presidente, durante la Asamblea Anual del Comité Intergremial, está la aceleración de la contratación de las obras que el Plan de Desarrollo contempla para el Valle del Cauca. Estas incluyen desde proyectos viales hasta la creación de tres nodos logísticos paraempleo y en el momento en que mejoren las condiciones se incremente la capacidad instalada de las fábricas. Ello se requiere especialmente para el sector azucarero, cuyas inversiones están hoy ‘congeladas’ por cuenta del cambio en la fórmula de fijación de precio del etanol.

Por su parte los directivos de la Sociedad de Agricultores y Ganaderos del Valle, SAG, aseguraron que el plan frutícola es una herramienta de generación de empleo, por lo que se le debe dar un mayor impulso. Se estima que un cultivo dedicado a la horticultura puede generar entre uno y cuatro empleos por hectárea.

Los diferentes indicadores económicos del Valle vienen en deterioro. Hasta marzo los despachos de cemento en el Valle registraron caída del 20% y los metros cuadrados aprobados para construcción de vivienda presentaron una disminución de 51,2% este año.

Según el Boletín Económico Regional del Banco de la República, las exportaciones acumuladas a febrero cayeron 13%, con reducciones en azúcar, en llantas, papel y cartón, así como en oro. Pero otros sectores de alto valor agregado crecieron significativamente, como libros, baterías, alimentos, medicamentos, aseo personal y de hogar.

Gran parte de las expectativas regionales sobre mejoramiento de la dinámica económica se centra en la inversión privada y pública. Por un lado se habla de ampliación de plantas de producción, nuevas pequeñas centrales hidroeléctricas, establecimientos de call center de comunicaciones, proyectos que demandan recursos por cerca de $728.000 millones para la región.

Y la Administración Municipal planifican 21 megaobras que empezarían a ejecutarse en el 2010, además de otros proyectos que implican la movilización de $1,6 billones en el mediano plazo.

<span style="background-color: rgb(0, 128, 128);"> **<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Las empresas ** <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">

La mayor problemática expresada por empresarios grandes, medianos y pequeños de la región, es la baja rentabilidad de sus negocios.

Es así como en el 2008 las utilidades se redujeron 31%, alcanzando $1,03 billones frente a las utilidades del 2007 que se ubicaron en $1,48 billones, según los balances presentados a la Superintendencia de Sociedades.

Asimismo, los datos de la gran industria y de las pyme evidencian una reducción en ventas y en la producción.

===<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 255);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 0, 0);"><span style="background-color: rgb(0, 128, 128);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(128, 0, 128);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"> === <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Unemployment occurs when a person is available to work and seeking work but currently without <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|work] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">. The prevalence of unemployment is usually measured using the unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|labor force] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> who are unemployed. The unemployment rate is also used in <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|economic] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> studies and economic <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|indexes]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> such as the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|United States]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">' <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Conference Board's]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Index of Leading Indicators]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> as a measure of the state of the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|macroeconomics]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">. There are a variety of different causes of unemployment, and disagreement on which causes are most important. Different schools of economic thought suggest different policies to address unemployment. <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Monetarists] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> for example, believe that controlling inflation to facilitate growth and investment is more important, and will lead to increased employment in the long run. <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Keynesians] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> on the other hand emphasize the smoothing out of <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|business cycles]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> by manipulating <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|aggregate demand]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">. There is also disagreement on how exactly to measure unemployment. Different countries experience different levels of unemployment; as of February 2009 the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|USA] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> unemployment levels exceed those in the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|European Union]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> and it also changes over time (e.g. the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Great depression]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">) throughout <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|economic cycles]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">. According to economist <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Edmond Malinvaud] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">, the type of unemployment that occurs depends on the situation at the goods market, rather than that they belong to opposing economic theories. If the market for goods is a buyers' market (i.e.: sales are restricted by demand), Keynesian unemployment may ensue while a limiting production capacity is more consistent with classical unemployment. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Types: Frictional Unemployment Frictional unemployment occurs when a worker moves from one job to another. While he searches for a job he is experiencing frictional unemployment. This applies for fresh graduates looking for employment as well. This is a productive part of the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|economy] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, increasing both the worker's long term <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|welfare]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and economic <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|efficiency]  <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. It is a result of imperfect information in the labor market, because if job seekers knew that they would be employed for a particular job vacancy, almost no time would be lost in getting a new job, eliminating this form of unemployment. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">  Seasonal Unemployment Seasonal unemployment results from the fluctuations in demands for labor in certain industries because of the seasonal nature of production. In such industries there is a seasonal pattern in the demand for labor. During the period when the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|industry] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> is at its peak there is a high degree of seasonal <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|employment]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, but during the off-peak period there is a high seasonal unemployment <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> Classical unemployment Classical or real-wage unemployment occurs when real wages for a job are set above the market-clearing level. This is often ascribed to government intervention, as with the minimum wage, or <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|labour unions] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Some, such as <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Murray Rothbard] <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, suggest that even social taboos can prevent wages from falling to the market clearing level. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">  Structural unemployment <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Structural unemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">is caused by a mismatch between jobs offered by employers and potential workers. This may pertain to geographical location, skills, and many other factors. If such a mismatch exists, frictional unemployment is likely to be more significant as well. For example, in the late 1990s there was a tech bubble, creating demand for computer specialists. In 2000-2001 this bubble collapsed. A housing bubble soon formed, creating demand for real estate workers, and many computer workers had to retrain to find employment. <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Seasonal unemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> occurs when an occupation is not in demand at certain seasons. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">  Cyclical or Keynesian unemployment Cyclical or <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Keynesian] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> unemployment, also known as demand deficient unemployment, occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy. This is caused by a <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|business cycle] <span style="font-family: Calibri; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> recession, and wages not falling to meet the equilibrium rate. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);">

<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Causes: <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">There is considerable debate among <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|economists] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> as to the causes of unemployment. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Keynesian economics] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> emphasizes unemployment resulting from insufficient <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|effective demand]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> for goods and services in the economy ( <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|cyclical unemployment]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">). Others point to structural problems, inefficiencies, inherent in labour markets ( <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|structural unemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">). <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Classical] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> or <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|neoclassical economics]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> tends to reject these explanations, and focuses more on rigidities imposed on the labor market from the outside, such as minimum wage laws, taxes, and other regulations that may discourage the hiring of workers ( <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|classical unemployment]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">). Yet others see unemployment as largely due to voluntary choices by the unemployed (frictional unemployment). Though there have been several definitions of voluntary and involuntary unemployment in the economics literature, a simple distinction is often applied. Voluntary unemployment is attributed to the individual's decisions, whereas involuntary unemployment exists because of the socio-economic environment (including the market structure, government intervention, and the level of aggregate demand) in which individuals operate. In these terms, much or most of frictional unemployment is voluntary, since it reflects individual search behavior. On the other hand, cyclical unemployment, structural unemployment, and classical unemployment, are largely involuntary in nature. However, the existence of structural unemployment may reflect choices made by the unemployed in the past, while classical unemployment may result from the legislative and economic choices made by labor unions and/or <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|political parties] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. So in practice, the distinction between voluntary and involuntary unemployment is hard to draw. The clearest cases of involuntary unemployment are those where there are fewer job vacancies than unemployed workers even when wages are allowed to adjust, so that even if all vacancies were to be filled, there would be unemployed workers. This is the case of cyclical unemployment, for which macroeconomic forces lead to microeconomic unemployment. See also: <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|unemployment types] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Open unemployment is generally associated with <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|capitalist] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> economies. In this view, unemployment is not an aberration of capitalism, indicating any sort of systemic malfunction. Rather, unemployment is a necessary structural feature of capitalism, intended to discipline the workforce. If unemployment is too low, workers make wage demands that either cuts into profits to an extent that jeopardize future investment, or are passed on to consumers, thus generating inflationary instability. <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|David Schweickart] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"> suggests, "Capitalism cannot be a full-employment economy, except in the very short term. For unemployment is the " <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|invisible hand]  <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">" -- carrying a stick -- that keeps the workforce in line." <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Classical economists dispute this, arguing that when there is too high a supply of labour, providing unions and Government have no prevented wage changes, the wage rate should fall, returning the economy to its long run efficient position at full employment. Libertarian thinkers like F.A. Hayek claimed that unemployment increases the more the government intervenes into the economy to try to improve the rights of those with jobs. For example, he asserted that minimum wages raise the cost of labour to above the market equilibrium, resulting in people who wish to work at the going rate but cannot as the wages are higher than their worth to business; unemployment. They believed that laws restricting layoffs made businesses less likely to hire in the first place leaving many young people unemployed and unable to find work. This school (the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Austrian School] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">) argued that the results of both actions lead to less productivity and are claimed to incur a higher cost on society as a whole. The results lead to not just higher unemployment but may increase poverty. The narrative continued by saying that the welfare state then responds with various benefits that are paid for by the middle and upper class which reduces their ability to consume and reduces the incentive to work hard and innovate for all sections of society, as the poor have income without working and the rich see their reward for work reduced. Economists like <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Ludwig Von Mises] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Milton Friedman]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Friedrich Von Hayek]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> not only believe that the welfare of society decreases with this kind of intervention but that these economic policies are not sustainable. One of the explanations behind ( <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|structural unemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">) and a warning that this kind of unemployment could be <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|permanent]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> in modern society, came from <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|economist]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|philosopher]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|André Gorz]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.The <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|microchip]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> revolution and the explosion in <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|computer]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> science and <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|robotising]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> of work even in less developed industrialized countries is the main reason. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> He therefore argues that the idea of `working less so everyone can work and that an <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|basic income] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> for all must be the solution,and he explains: "The connection between more and better has been broken; our needs for many products and services are already more than adequately met, and many of our as-yet- unsatisfied needs will be met not by producing more, but by producing differently, producing other things, or even producing less. This is especially true as regards our needs for air, water, space, silence, beauty, time and human contact... "From the point where it takes only 1,000 hours per year or 20,000 to 30,000 hours per lifetime to create an amount of wealth equal to or greater than the amount we create at the present time in 1,600 hours per year or 40,000 to 50,000 hours in a working life, we must all be able to obtain a real income equal to or higher than our current salaries in exchange for a greatly reduced quantity of work... "Neither is it true any longer that the more each individual works, the better off everyone will be. The present crisis has stimulated technological change of an unprecedented scale and speed: `the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|microchip] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> revolution'. The object and indeed the effect of this revolution has been to make rapidly increasing savings in labour, in the industrial, administrative and <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|service sectors]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Increasing production is secured in these sectors by decreasing amounts of labour. As a result, the social process of production no longer needs everyone to work in it on a full-time basis. The <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|work ethic] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> ceases to be viable in such a situation and workbased society is thrown into crisis," <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|André Gorz, Critique of Economic Reason,Gallié, 1989]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">.

<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Costs of unemployment <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">
<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Individual An 1837 political cartoon about unemployment in the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|United States] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Unemployed individuals are unable to earn money to meet financial obligations. Failure to pay mortgage payments or to pay rent may lead to <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|homelessness] <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> through <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|foreclosure]  <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> or <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|eviction]  <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Unemployment increases susceptibility to malnutrition, illness, mental stress, and loss of <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|self-esteem] <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, leading to <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|depression]  <span style="font-size: 12pt; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. According to a study published in Social Indicator Research, even those who tend to be optimistic find it difficult to look on the bright side of things when unemployed. Using interviews and data from German participants aged 16 to 94 – including individuals coping with the stresses of real life and not just a volunteering student population – the researchers determined that even optimists struggled with being unemployed. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Dr. M. Brenner conducted a study in 1979 on the "Influence of the Social Environment on Psychology." Brenner found that for every 10% increase in the number of unemployed there is a 1.2% in total mortality, a 1.7% increase in <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|cardiovascular disease] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, 1.3% more <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|cirrhosis]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> cases, 1.7% more suicides, 0.4% more arrests, and 0.8% more assaults reported to the police. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|¿] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> A more recent study by Christopher Ruhm on the effect of recessions on health found that several measures of health actually improve during recessions. As for the impact of an economic downturn on crime, during the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Great Depression] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> the crime rate did not decrease. Because unemployment insurance in the U.S. typically does not replace 50% of the income one received on the job (and one cannot receive it forever), the unemployed often end up tapping <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|welfare] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> programs such as <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Food Stamps]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> or accumulating <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|debt]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Higher government transfer payments in the form of welfare and food stamps decrease spending on productive economic goods, decreasing GDP¿ Some hold that many of the low-income jobs are not really a better option than unemployment with a <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|welfare state] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> (with its <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|unemployment insurance]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> benefits). But since it is difficult or impossible to get unemployment insurance benefits without having worked in the past, these jobs and unemployment are more complementary than they are substitutes. (These jobs are often held short-term, either by students or by those trying to gain experience; turnover in most low-paying jobs is high) Unemployment insurance keeps an available supply of workers for the low-paying jobs, while the employers' choice of management techniques (low wages and benefits, few chances for advancement) is made with the existence of unemployment insurance in mind. This combination promotes the existence of one kind of unemployment, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|frictional unemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. Another cost for the unemployed is that the combination of unemployment, lack of financial resources, and social responsibilities may push unemployed workers to take jobs that do not fit their skills or allow them to use their talents. Unemployment can cause <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|underemployment] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">. The fear of job loss can spur psychological anxiety. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Society An economy with high unemployment is not using all of the resources, i.e. labour, available to it. Since it is operating below its <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|production possibility frontier] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, it could have higher output if all the workforce were usefully employed. However, there is a trade off between economic efficiency and unemployment: if the <span style="background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|frictionally unemployed] <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> accepted the first job they were offered, they would be likely to be operating at below their skill level, reducing the economy's efficiency. <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">It is estimated that, during the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Great Depression] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, unemployment due to <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|sticky wages]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> cost the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|US economy]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> about $4 trillion. This is many times larger than losses due to monopolies, cartels and tariffs. During a long period of unemployment, workers can lose their skills, causing a loss of human capital. Being unemployed can also reduce the life expectancy of workers by about 7 years High unemployment can encourage <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|xenophobia] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|protectionism]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> as workers fear that foreigners are stealing their jobs.Efforts to preserve existing jobs of domestic and native workers include legal barriers against "outsiders" who want jobs, obstacles to <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|immigration]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, and/or <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|tariffs]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and similar <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|trade barriers]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> against foreign competitors. Finally, a rising unemployment rate concentrates the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|oligopsony] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> power of employers by increasing competition amongst workers for scarce employment opportunities.

<span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">Benefits <span style="font-weight: normal; font-size: 24pt; font-family: Calibri,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Unemployment may have advantages as well as disadvantages for the overall economy. Notably, it may help avert runaway <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|inflation] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, which negatively affects almost everyone in the affected economy and has serious long-term economic costs. However the historic assumption that full local employment must lead directly to local inflation has been attenuated, as recently expanded international trade has shown itself able to continue to supply low-priced goods even as local employment rates rise closer to full employment. The inflation-fighting benefits to the entire economy arising from a presumed optimum level of unemployment has been studied extensively. Before current levels of world trade were developed, unemployment was demonstrated to reduce inflation, following the <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Phillips curve] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">, or to decelerate inflation, following the NAIRU/ <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|natural rate of unemployment]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> theory. since it is relatively easy to seek a new job without losing one's current one. And when more jobs are available for fewer workers (lower unemployment), it may allow workers to find the jobs that better fit their tastes, talents, and needs. As in the Marxian theory of unemployment, <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|special interests] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> may also benefit: some employers may expect that employees with no fear of losing their jobs will not work as hard, or will demand increased wages and benefit. According to this theory, unemployment may promote general <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|labor productivity] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> and <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|profitability]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> by increasing employers' <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|monopsony]  <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">-like power (and profits). Optimal unemployment has also been defended as an environmental tool to brake the constantly accelerated growth of the GDP to maintain levels sustainable in the context of resource constraints and environmental impacts. However the tool of denying jobs to willing workers seems a blunt instrument for conserving resources and the environment -- it reduces the consumption of the unemployed across the board, and only in the short-term. Full employment of the unemployed workforce, all focused toward the goal of developing more environmentally efficient methods for production and consumption might provide a more significant and lasting cumulative environmental benefit and reduced resource consumption. If so the future economy and workforce would benefit from the resultant structural increases in the sustainable level of GDP growth. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Some critics of the "culture of work" such as anarchist <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|Bob Black] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> see employment as overemphasized culturally in modern countries. Such critics often propose quitting jobs when possible, working less, reassessing the cost of living to this end, creation of jobs which are "fun" as opposed to "work," and creating cultural norms where work is seen as unhealthy. These people advocate an " <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(219, 0, 255);"><span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">[|anti-work] <span style="font-family: Calibri,sans-serif; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">" ethic for life. <span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">

Tasa de desempleo en Colombia ascendió del 13,1 al 14,2% en enero del 2009
En enero de 2008 esa tasa fue del 12,3%, con un número de desempleados de 2'830.000 en todo el país, reveló este viernes un informe del Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadísticas (Dane). De acuerdo con la entidad, en las 13 principales ciudades del país se pasó de 1.179.000 personas sin trabajo a 1.447.000 en 2009 (como es evidente, esta cifra es más baja que aquella para todo el país). En 2008 la tasa de desempleo nacional cerró en el 10,6 por ciento. El Dane informó también que en el trimestre noviembre 2008 a enero 2009 la tasa de desempleo promedio fue del 11,9 por ciento, frente al 10,8 por ciento registrada en igual período del año anterior. Ibagué, capital del departamento del Tolima (centro sur), es la ciudad que observó en enero la tasa más alta de desempleo, al registrar 19,0 por ciento, mientras Medellín alcanzó el 14,6; Cali, el 14,1, y Bogotá el 10,0 por ciento.


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