What would you prefer a pay raise, or increased employment opportunity creating an economic boost?

Day 32

Recently there was news presentation, that employers plan to provide pay raise to their current employees rather than recruiting new employees. The concept of the statement was based on the idea that the current employees are the cream of the pie, and employers rather spend money in employee retention. The only problem with this picture is there would be a plateau  in the unemployment rate. The citizens who are not currently working because of various reasons that includes: company shutdown, downsizing effect, etc will have an extreme hard time find a job. With a plateaued high unemployment rate, the economic condition would become hard to improvise.

So here is my question: What would you prefer a pay raise, or increased employment opportunity creating an economic boost?

Does the solution of the debate depend on which side of the coin you belong, an employed side or an unemployed side? Imagine places like Rhode Island, Detroit, etc where the bankruptcy rate is extremely high because of the lack of job opportunity. Working employees may get a pay raise from the current employer, but what is the sense of security? What is the guaranty, based on current economy the employers will be in business or you may not become a victim of organization restructure?

In economic time would you pass the monetary gain to reinvest in an economic growth increasing employment opportunities in future?  What would you think is the point of view of legislation and the federal government on this concept of pay raise versus employment opportunity? Would you like to put all the eggs in the same basket?

"When in a debate ensure you have a detailed understanding of the pros and cons of your opponent"

~Lenji Jacob