Why You're Thinking About Unemployment Wrong

Johnny Harris is explaining macroeconomics now. It looks like I am about to get a practical lesson in unemployment.

"Humans aren't baguettes" - Johnny Harris That's the hard hitting investigatory journalism I subscribe for

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

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

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

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!

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

I had to pause the video type this: thank you! I have to say that the quality of this video is astounding. You explain things so well and I can't imagine how long the script must've taken to write. The visuals are very engaging too, not to mention the bits of humor sparked throught the video. Your video has developed a new sense of curiosity towards this topic, and I really appreciate it. I hope you prioritize quaility over quanitity when it comes to the production of videos you make, please keep up the good work!

Thanks for making macro economics cool and understandable for younger generations (and the rest of us too). I'm a macro nerd myself, but you are doing a great service for so many out there who aren't learning it in school and would rather swipe through another TikTok than look at their credit card statement. I know you're just getting started on this particular topic, but a great journey lies ahead of you and your viewers. Especially if that beast unfamiliar to a whole generation (aka recession) is ahead. Happy trails!

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.

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.

I retire next month. And I'm a little nervous about how to keep up with my kids

As a person pushing 60 one thing I have noticed(even with my own nephews) that many of the younger people won’t take jobs even in fields they trained in because they don’t like the work. We were taught(or maybe brainwashed) that you are “lucky”to have job and that “most people hate their jobs” so you keep it to support yourself and family until or if you find a better job. My friends and I have all gone through this and many kept jobs they hated for 30 years because they felt they had to be responsible. Maybe the younger generation is smarter than we were but then again my parents were not going to let me live in their house into my 30’s without being gainfully employed. Maybe just changing times.