Why Unemployment in America is Different
America’s unemployment rate is now similar to France, which registered 7.5% in 2007 but the implications are very, very different. In France, unemployment benefits run at 57 to 75 percent of previous salary for up to 3 years and sometimes longer, if close to retirement.
Added to this are the huge costs of healthcare insurance in the US, which typically run at 30% of a salary, for an employer. To put it in perspective, my family self-employed healthcare costs ($12,000 plus $4000 excess), are the same as my sister’s 80% mortgage for a 2 bedroom house on the South Coast of England.
In short, America will be a terrifying place to be for those who are going to be unemployed, as this article in today’s New York Times suggests.
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December 7th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Ya we could be in a bad place very soon if we dont make some big changes.