Where are the jobs?

The unemployment rate in USA is now at 8.5% and is expected to increase to 10%. The unemployment rate in many countries Europe has been over 10% for many years. 

The unemployment rate in Singapore may appear low by international standards, but it is seriously under-reported. Due to the lack of employment benefit, many people do not bother to report that they are looking for work.

Minister of Manpower Gan Kim Yong advised graduates to take any job, rather than sit at home. But, where are the jobs? There are insufficient jobs for the large number of people looking for work. Those with jobs work long hours, to justify their cost to the employer. This is the outcome of the free market system.

If we continue to believe in the free market and in globalisation, it will take a long time for a solution to be found. The free market system has finally broken down, and yet economists and  policymakers do not want to face the reality that it is a failed system.

We need a better system (other than the free market) to distribute the work among the people in the world in a fair manner. This will give a better quality of life to all people. 

Tan Kin Lian