News

Chicago. The U.S. unemployment remain high "for some time, partly because changes in the labor market have made it harder for the unemployed find work, said an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.



While cyclical factors are responsible for increasing the rate of unemployment, structural factors are largely responsible for their persistence, said economist Cleveland Fed, Murat Tasci.



The unemployment rate was 9.4% in December, and economists expect to rise to 9.5% this month. "Even if it is cyclical, as I believe it does not necessarily mean that this high level of unemployment will disappear soon," Tasci said in an interview.



"A slower reallocation of workers and GDP growth weaker than normal during the recovery so far may be two major reasons."

Some officials have suggested that structural changes in the economy have created a mismatch between the skills of job seekers and employers want.



The result, say these officials, is that the ability to influence the rate of unemployment through monetary policy is limited.



The president of the Minneapolis Fed, Narayana Kocherlakota, has suggested that the rate of unemployment "natural", long linked to 5%, could now be as high as 8%.



Source: Reuters La Prensa.com