Introduction
Unemployment is a universal problem with which the political leadership of almost every country has to struggle. Even the United States of America which has emerged as the dominant economy of the global village is forced to invest considerable resources in job creation and economic development programs aimed at reducing unemployment.
Unemployment means being out of job or a situation where the individual is willing to work but has none. So we will discuss the main issues/effects of the unemployment on our society and economy.
How does unemployment affect the economy?
Some of the well-known effects of unemployment on the economy are:
- Unemployment financial costs
The government and the nation suffer. In many countries, the government has to pay the unemployed some benefits. The greater the number of the unemployed or the longer they are without work the more money the government has to shell out. Therefore, the nation not only has to deal with the lost income and decreased production but also with additional cost.
- Spending power
The spending power of an unemployed person and his/her family decreases drastically and they would rather save than spend their money, which in turn affects the economy adversely.
- Reduced spending power of the employed
Increased taxes and the insecurity about their own work may affect the spending power of the working people as well and they too may start to spend less than before thus affecting the economy and also the society in a negative manner.
- Recession
With the increase rates of unemployment other economy factors are significantly affected, such as: the income per person, health costs, quality of health care, standard of leaving and poverty. All these affect not just the economy but the entire systems and the society in general. Here are some aspects of the impact of unemployment on our society:
- The effect of unemployment on our society
Unemployment affects not just the person himself but also his/her family and in the long run the society where he lives. Unemployment brings with it despair, unhappiness, and suffering. It forces people to live their lives in a way they do not wish to – The life expectancy is negatively affected.
Life expectancy is the ease by which people living in a time/place are able to satisfy their needs/wants. Here are the main aspects:
- Mental health: Mental health problems like Madness, Low self-confidence, feeling unworthy, depression and hopelessness. With the lost income and the frustration involved in it, the recently unemployed may develop negative attitudes toward common things in life and may feel that all sense of purpose is lost. Frequent emotions could be – low self-esteem, inadequateness and be feeling dejected and hopeless.
- Health diseases: The unemployment overall tension can increase dramatically general health issues of individuals.
- Tension at home: Quarrels and arguments at home front which may lead to tension and increased numbers of divorces etc.
- Political issues: Loss of trust in administration and the government which may lead to political instability
- Tension over taxes rises: Unemployment also brings up discontent and frustration amongst the tax paying citizens. In order to meet the demands of the unemployment fund the government many times may have to increase the taxes thus giving way to restlessness amongst the tax paying citizens.
- Insecurity amongst employees: The prevailing unemployment and the plight of the unemployed people and their families may create fear and insecurity even in the currently employed people.
- Crime and violence: Increase in the rate of crime.
- Suicide cases: Increase in the rate of suicide attempts and actual suicides as well. But we are different and this case is near to zero in our country, because we are Muslim society and no one in my knowledge committed suicide for being unemployed.
- Social outing: Unemployment may bring a decrease in social outings and interactions with other people, including friends.
- Stigma: Unemployment brings with more than just ‘no work’. It also brings with it the disgrace that the person has to bear. Nobody likes to be termed as unemployed.
- The standard of living: In times of unemployment the competition for jobs and the negotiation power of the individual decreases and thus also the living standard of people with the salaries packages and income reduced.
- Loss of skills’ usage: The unemployed is not able to put his/her skills to use. And in a situation where it goes on for too long, the person may have to lose some of his/her skills.
Conclusion
It can be concluded that the society as a whole loses as a result of unemployment because total output is below its potential level. The unemployed suffer as individuals, both from their income loss while unemployed and from the low level of self-esteem that long periods of unemployment cause. Substantial unemployment also generates (or creates conditions for) social unrest and political instability. It’s shocked that our unemployment rate today is still above 60% and this needs a clear policy and practical plan to save this nation, otherwise nation will be worse as today and the peace and stability will be disturbed because it needs sustainability.
By: khadar Da’ud Abdirahman
E-mail: khadar.daud@gmail.com