Unemployment - Dissent Magazine

The Relational Economy

Sarah Jaffe ▪ Summer 2020

Both romantic and working relationships are under extraordinary pressure. Can we seize this moment to reclaim our hearts from our jobs?

How the Relief Effort Ran Aground

Mike Konczal ▪ Summer 2020

At each step, poor implementation has weakened the U.S. recovery effort.

How Economic Assumptions Uphold Racist Systems

Joelle Gamble ▪ June 9, 2020

Racism shapes how economics is taught and practiced. When we fail to scrutinize neoclassical assumptions, they perpetuate racist outcomes.

In “Panic Mode” and Waiting for More Relief

Michelle Chen ▪ June 3, 2020

A couple employed by an airport catering company haven’t worked since March. They’re struggling to make ends meet.

Displaced from Chinatown Restaurants and Waiting for Unemployment

Michelle Chen ▪ May 13, 2020

Two restaurant workers tell their stories.

To Keep Meat on the Table, Workers Need a Voice

Nelson Lichtenstein ▪ April 30, 2020

Essential workers need genuine, collective empowerment, not just a monetary reward or a rhetorical pat on the back.

Understanding the Unemployment Crisis

Colin Gordon ▪ April 30, 2020

What’s behind the drive to “re-open”? Some state governments just want to return to how they previously used unemployment insurance: not to cushion the blow of job loss but to compel participation in the labor market.

The Deepening Unemployment Crisis

Colin Gordon ▪ April 16, 2020

Current unemployment numbers now rival the peak during the Great Depression.

The Unemployment Shock Continues

Colin Gordon ▪ April 9, 2020

It took just three weeks to hit the number of U.S. unemployment claims that were reached in forty-four weeks during the Great Recession. And that doesn’t include people unable to access antiquated and overwhelmed state application systems.

Belabored Stories: What It’s Like to File for Unemployment

Sarah Jaffe ▪ April 3, 2020

The unemployment system is more confusing than it needs to be.

The Unemployment Shock

Colin Gordon ▪ April 2, 2020

Most downturns in the business cycle occur over a number of months. This spike has occurred in just a couple of weeks.

What’s (Still) the Matter with Iowa?

Colin Gordon ▪ March 11, 2019

Unemployment “reforms” in Iowa and other states controlled by the GOP fit neatly with a larger agenda: not to protect workers from low wages, unsafe working conditions, and unbridled employer power, but to compel them to accept whatever they can get.