The Effects of Unemployment - Free Essay Example

Unemployment refers to the condition of being jobless or the proportion of unemployed individuals to the civilian workforce. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, every individual out of employment is not jobless. To be factored in the unemployment rate one does not necessarily be without employment but also they must have actively searched for employment in the last one month. Suppose one is temporarily removed and are waiting to be rehired, they are still legible.However, if one gives up, they are not considered I the unemployment rate. The actual jobless rate is higher if one considers the demoralized individuals. In this paper, I will discuss the effect of unemployment on various aspects of American Society. Unemployment, to be specific sustained unemployment has subtle and obvious influences at the national, communal and individual levels, with families and individuals enduring the burden of psychological, emotional, physical and spiritual effects. Unemployment numbers, so distant and dry to those working, can cause traumatic tallies on the unemployed. Those same numbers drive political and business resolutions that result in a brutal sequence of individual-fulfilling prophecies, employment losses resulting in economic cut downs which in turn result in more employment cutbacks. Unemployment has a direct impact on the economy. It affects both the stability and growth of a nationrs economy. However, the employment rate acts as a lagging factor meaning that it assess the impact of economic activity, like a recession. The rate does not increase until a recession commences. It also indicates that the unemployment rate continues rising despite the recovery of an economy. Employers, therefore, become unwilling to sack employees when economic conditions worsen. In the case of major corporations, it takes longer to execute a layoff strategy. Corporations resist employing individuals until the economy takes a direction towards the development sphere of the economic sequence. For instance, During the 2008 financial crisis, the recession actually started in the first quarter of 2008 when GDP fell 1.8 percent. The unemployment rate didnt reach 5.5 percent until May 2008. It reached its peak of 10.2 percent in October 2009, after the recession had ended. (Griep et al., 2 016) Unemployment also has a direct impact on the unemployed individual. In an article form The New York Times on The Enduring Consequences of Unemployment, Mr. Applebaum an economist elaborates that the repercussions of an unemployed person are both long-lasting and grave (Verick, 2009). For instance, individuals who got employed during the extreme early 1980 recession were earning roughly twenty percent lesser than the average twenty years later. Long-lasting repercussions spread to the kith and kin of unemployed individuals also. A research conducted in the US showed that the sons of unemployed guardians earn nine percent less than those of employed guardians with similar and equal skills and knowledge. Someone who is laid off when the unemployment rate is less than 6 percent will lose an average of a year and a halfs worth of earnings, (Verick, 2009). Additionally, the more one becomes unemployed the harder it gets for an individual to find a job once again mainly because the employe rs are cautious of the long period of unemployment and also due to the loss of skill and expertise over time of no practice. In addition to the lack of income, unemployed individuals tend to lose self-respect as well as friends. The social and personal results of unemployment include poverty and hardship, debt, housing stress and homelessness, family breakdowns and tensions, alienation, boredom, stigma and shame, crime, elevated social isolation, erosion of self-esteem and confidence, ill health and the depreciating of work skills. Majority of these costs increase as the unemployment period increases. Unemployed individuals report that being jobless is the worst tragedy that ever happened to them. Basing from a health perspective, unemployment influences the mental, psychological and physical health of the unemployed. Despite the insufficient scientific conclusions on the Great depression, informal facts show that individuals in the early 1930s, when the unemployment toll was at thirty percent, suffered from similar maladies encountered by the currently unemployed people. Anxiety, depression, and sleeplessness are persistent characteristics for many unemployed individuals, especially males (McGee Thompson, 2015). Self-esteem depreciates, especially in men with no or little family assistance. Medical visits increase, drug use increases and ailments are higher in the unemployed. After being unemployed for 18 months, a persons chance of developing a serious ailment like diabetes or heart trouble increases twofold (Vancea Utzet, 2016). Children suffer depression since they consume parental negativity and gloom. School absences increase resulting in poor grades. Majority of child renrs self-esteem and self-awareness are interconnected to their guardianrs feelings of individual worth. When it comes to family, the loss of a breadwinner results into enormous stress, not only on financial grounds but it also causes ancillary reactions such as quarreling among spouses which consequently has grave effects on children. School dropout levels are high in homes with high unemployment rates. Young ones assume mental and emotional and physical characteristics of their stressed guardians (McGee Thompson, 2015). The weakening of family bonds cannot be relinquished by work-related activities as they do not exist. Resentment, among family members, becomes a long-term issue for the families of unemployed, and ill-treatment especially physical harassment of unemployed males towards their wives and children increases. Social breakdowns, via overloaded social schedules and increasing crime rates, eventually occur, even though the information conflicts among crime levels. The Great Depression Period crime analysis, significantly less detailed than modern analyses, shows that crime increased rapidly among low-income citizens, implying that current relations between crime and poverty possess deeper sociological sources. Apart from financial problems of being unable to provide basic needs, unemployed individuals have to overcome additional frustrations when attempting to fill for employment positions, Medicaid, food stamps and tarmacking in search of jobs (Verick, 2009). Drug abuse increases among the unemployed and their families. Unemployment also bears a significant effect on youth. This is evident in the Great Depression period. The 19th century saw the young adultrs unemployment level hit thirty percent exceeding the countryrs average. Many children could not afford high school education. By 2013, the rate for youth aged sixteen to twenty-four was roughly twice the nationrs average (Verick, 2009). Youthful unemployed individuals do not only experience lost income, but they also miss out on opportunities to grow their set of skills which suppresses their earning capabilities over a period of time. Unemployment among young adults and the youth also creates a breeding environment for gang annexation. In conclusion, it is evident that unemployment does not only affect the unemployed individual, it also affects his family, the community and the nation at large. The effects of unemployment range from ill health, poor financial conditions, and social interaction problems to crime. Work Cited Griep, Y., Kinnunen, U., N? ¤tti, J., De Cuyper, N., Mauno, S., M? ¤kikangas, A., De Witte, H. (2016). The effects of unemployment and perceived job insecurity: a comparison of their association with psychological and somatic complaints, self-rated health and life satisfaction. International archives of occupational and environmental health, 89(1), 147-162. McGee, R. E., Thompson, N. J. (2015, March 19). Unemployment and Depression Among Emerging Adults in 12 States, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2010. Preventing Chronic Disease, 12. Vancea, M., Utzet, M. (2016). How unemployment and precarious employment affect the health of young people: A scoping study on social determinants. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 45(1), 73-84. Verick, S. (2009). Who is hit hardest during a financial crisis? The vulnerability of young men and women to unemployment in an economic downturn.