Geoffrey Owens and Historic Unemployment Rate Reinforce the Value of Work
Terry Muns /
As summer winds down to a close, the economy continues to fire on all cylinders.
According to the Labor Department, the national unemployment rate remained at 3.9 percent for the month of August. As recently as President Barack Obama’s second term, it was more than twice as high. Black and Hispanic unemployment rates have now reached record lows, and the economy is growing at 4.2 percent.
Critics downplay the significance of such low unemployment, which hasn’t been this low for this long since the Vietnam War a half-century ago. Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi sarcastically said, “Hip hip hooray, unemployment is down. What does that mean to me in my life? I need a bigger paycheck.”
Such dismissal of the current job market is misleading on multiple levels.
First, wages are growing at their fastest pace in a decade. Full-time jobs are increasing at the expense of part-time jobs. In other words, contrary to critics’ suggestions, the jobs being created are good jobs.
More broadly, though, this sentiment about the need for “good jobs” overlooks the fact that there is dignity in all work. We should celebrate these historic job opportunities because each new job reflects the pursuit of something honorable and meaningful.
This lesson was driven home recently when a picture of former “Cosby Show” actor Geoffrey Owens working at Trader Joe’s went viral. Though widely perceived as job-shaming, the popular response that ensued created a teachable moment for those who criticize less-skilled work.
"Every job is worthwhile." Former 'Cosby Show' actor Geoffrey Owens speaks out over job-shaming incident https://t.co/zTTzwXwEzQ pic.twitter.com/zF8yuxwGAi
— TIME (@TIME) September 4, 2018
Numerous celebrities jumped to Owens’ defense. Pamela Adlon, star of the FX series “Better Things,” tweeted, “I worked in retail. At a flower shop. I passed out flyers. It’s about the work. Work gives you pride and purpose.”
I had been a working actor for years. Jobs stopped, as they do. I worked in retail. At a flower shop. I passed out flyers. It’s about the work. Work gives you pride and purpose. Your visibility as an actor never goes away. But the money sure does. #geoffreyowens pic.twitter.com/BBzZaBrGBx
— Pamela Adlon (@pamelaadlon) September 2, 2018
HLN correspondent and former “Entertainment Tonight” co-host Nischelle Turner tweeted, “At one point I called my agent & told her I was going to apply at Target. I wasn’t ashamed. I needed to work. I had bills. And an honest days work is just that, honest.”
In 2008, I left a job at KTTV voluntarily. Then the economy crashed & I couldn’t find steady work. I struggled. At one point I called my agent & told her I was going to apply at Target. I wasn’t ashamed. I needed to work. I had bills. And an honest days work is just that, honest.
— Nischelle Turner (@nischelleturner) September 1, 2018
And former professional football player and actor Terry Crews tweeted, “I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, I’d do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of.”
I swept floors AFTER the @NFL. If need be, I’d do it again. Good honest work is nothing to be ashamed of. https://t.co/8mseCpaIqz
— terrycrews (@terrycrews) September 2, 2018
There is no such thing as a bad job, only entitled people who think themselves above certain work.
State and federal policymakers should focus on preserving as robust a job market as possible to ensure that people from all walks of life have the opportunity to work, when and how they want.
In practice, this means cutting regulations and taxes that prevent jobs being created. For instance, occupational licensing restrictions, which can make it illegal for people to work in their chosen field, are perhaps the most obvious example of bad policy preventing good work.
>>> Study Shows Licensure Laws Kill Jobs in All 50 States
Americans take pride in having wide access to jobs—as we should. But we should never take certain jobs for granted. The U.S. is unique among advanced economies in that it’s the only country where virtually anyone who wants a job can get one. In Europe, for instance, the youth unemployment rate is more than double that of the United States.
Because of our current historically low unemployment rate, millions more Americans are learning the importance of having a job—and the privilege of having such widespread opportunity.