Why is 0 percent unemployment bad for NYS Department of Labor claims?
I've been reading about economics and unemployment rates, and something is confusing me. Everyone talks about how we want low unemployment, but then I read that 0% unemployment would actually be bad? How does this affect people like us who are filing NYS Department of Labor claims? Does this mean the state actually wants some people to stay unemployed? I'm currently on week 6 of my claim and wondering if this economic theory impacts how they process our benefits or job search requirements.
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Isaiah Thompson
Great question! 0% unemployment would actually indicate serious economic problems. In a healthy economy, there's always some natural unemployment - people changing jobs, recent graduates looking for work, seasonal workers between positions. This is called 'frictional unemployment' and it's normal. If unemployment hits 0%, it usually means the economy is overheated and heading for a crash. The NYS Department of Labor knows this, which is why they focus on helping people find sustainable employment rather than just getting everyone employed immediately.
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Jessica Nguyen
•That makes sense! So when I'm doing my weekly job search activities, they're not just trying to get me any job but a good match?
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Ruby Garcia
yeah but it still sucks when youre the one unemployed lol. been filing my weekly claims for 2 months and every week they ask about job searches. feels like they want me to stay unemployed sometimes with all the requirements
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Alexander Evans
•I get the frustration, but those job search requirements actually help maintain that healthy unemployment rate. If you're having trouble getting through to NYS Department of Labor for questions about your requirements, I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that helped me reach an actual agent. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/qyftW-mnTNI showing how it works. Made it way easier than sitting on hold for hours.
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Evelyn Martinez
Think of it this way - if unemployment was 0%, it would mean there's no labor mobility. Workers couldn't quit bad jobs to find better ones because there would be no available workers to replace them. Companies couldn't hire new talent. Innovation would stagnate. The NYS Department of Labor aims for what economists call 'full employment' which is around 3-5% unemployment, not zero.
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Benjamin Carter
•WAIT so the government actually WANTS some people unemployed?? That seems messed up. I've been stressing about my claim status and they're saying some unemployment is good?
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Isaiah Thompson
•It's not that they want people to suffer - they want a dynamic economy where people can move between jobs freely. Your individual unemployment claim is still important and they want to help you find work. The big picture economic theory doesn't change that.
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Maya Lewis
This reminds me of when I was unemployed in 2019 and kept hearing about how great the job market was. Turns out we were getting close to that danger zone of too-low unemployment. Then 2020 hit and... well, we all know what happened. Now I'm back on unemployment again and at least the NYS Department of Labor system seems more prepared this time.
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Jessica Nguyen
•Did you notice any difference in how they handled claims between then and now?
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Isaac Wright
interesting question OP! never thought about it that way
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