How unemployment affects you, even if you have a job or don’t need one. By the Home Economist

The unemployment rate affects your local park, your child’s school and even the value of your home. Even if you don’t have or want a job.

This election everyone’s talking about the unemployment rate. May sound like a real snoozer, leaving you to think, “I don’t care because…..”

1) I have a job.

2) I don’t need a job.

3) Sure as hell I need a job, which that’s exactly why I don’t have time to discuss this.

We see your point.

However, the unemployment rate – which is the percent of people in an area who are out of a job and ACTIVELY looking for work – actually affects you greatly. Mostly because that rate can single-handedly alter the condition of parks, schools and even your home value. Look below to see how and the AFTER THAT you’ll see how to be a Home Economist and track conditions in your VERY OWN city.

Parks: These green spaces are filled with equipment that doesn’t maintain itself, you know. Most of the funding comes from local taxes and people who don’t work typically don’t rush to pay their property taxes. Or they sell their homes and values decline, bring down how much the owners pay in property taxes. Typically citizens really like having a fire rescue squad and a police force, so park budgets are often first to be sliced.

Your Property Value: Here’s the way it works: people who don’t have jobs tend to have trouble paying thier mortgages. They sell their homes, sometimes quickly and often cheaply – or they stop paying the bank altogether. Banks hate that. And the institution’s first response is to swoop in and foreclose on the property. And then THEY sell it quickly and yes, cheaply. When surrounding homes sell for less, you’re value is goes down for the ride. (So do those nearby property taxes that fund parks.)

Schools: Yeah sure, the state helps and so does the federal government but they’re funded also by property taxes which are determined by home values. If those drop, tax revenues fall and schools become strapped.

Below, you’ll find unemployment rates for every city and they are easy to read, here is what you need to know:

1) The number you see is a percentage. So to read it, you put the word “percent” after the number. The unemployment rate in Anniston, Alabama in 2008 was 5.2 percent. That means at that time, 5.2 percent of the people in Anniston Alabama were out of work and actively looking for jobs.

2) Unemployment rates are better when they’re low. When rates go up, more people are looking for jobs. When they go down, fewer people are looking for jobs. In this economy, they’re almost all rising – but see by how much. Compare your city to your state.

Aug 2008       Aug 2012