Unemployment is considered as the most pressing issue in the USA in contemporary society. While in the past such issues have not developed due to the nation’s age structure, a stagnation in the number of baby boomers in the economy has led to significant differences being elicited in the country. Fewer people are retiring in the nation as opposed to those from previous years, signaling a disaster waiting to happen as, in the future, such trends will shift the unemployment rate to even higher levels. As such, there is a necessity to study the effect of unemployment on American society by detailing the problems faced by unemployed individuals and consequences of their actions in the country. Many young individuals suffer from long-term effects of unemployment, nevertheless, there are various remedies such as setting a low retirement age, government programs to integrate young people in the workforce, and improving the curriculum in schools to reflect societal issues.
Unemployment is a social problem with far-reaching consequences in the world. It can be defined as a situation in which an individual seeking work is unable to find unemployment matching their skills. For such a situation, there is a wastage of money and resources used to educate the person in the course that they have attained. This is an opportunity cost to the family or guardian as the money could have been used to conduct another activity with economic value. Such an issue can be curbed by offering insurance to unemployed individuals who would wish to find work as the money could potentially improve their economic condition (United States Department of Labor, 2017)
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Furthermore, there are individuals who do not get any sort of employment, a fact that leads to alleviated social issues in the country. To begin with, crime increases when unemployment rates soar. Basic needs lead people to conduct any form of activity. For some, these vices are committed to prevent their families from starving or to seek medication. The government has continually been unable to provide employment to citizens. In December 2013, for example, the government added 74,000 jobs only, the unemployment rate, in this case, went down by 6.7%. such a situation results in confusion and thus people get dispirited. Vices such as theft and prostitution arise due to unemployment and thus it is necessary for the government and societies to seek measures to alleviate unemployment by affording jobs, particularly to the youth. As one grows older, they are likely to have higher wages as their educational attainment rises, therefore, the youth can be considered as the most afflicted group by unemployment (BLS, 2017)
The government has significantly reduced the rate of unemployment in America over the past few years. However, jobs continue to dwindle while recovery is weak, this necessitates additional strategies to be employed to curb the issue by improving the rate at which people willing to start work are indoctrinated in jobs. It is, however, important to note that while a large number of individuals without work would wish to gain employment, there are some people without this drive. Programs such as Obamacare have enabled individuals without work to gain access to resources that would have previously been reserved for those with work. This has led to an increase in the number of people who do not have work but cannot be deemed as unemployed since they are not seeking any form of employment.
This necessitates the development of additional studies to ascertain the manner in which society is supposed to deal with the increasing problem. For example, the government could offer incentives to workers in the form of paid vacations to entice more people to seek work. The lack of sound policies to deal with people who are unemployed by choice is a worrying factor that should be addressed before it adversely affects the long-term growth of the society (Erickson, 2014).
Moreover, unemployment is affected by societal beliefs, where individuals that work are praised while those without work are considered as lazy. This is not determined by one’s predisposition to work and thus has the potential to adversely affect one’s morale and overall growth of the society. This is because people with work are viewed in a different way from those who are not employed, resulting in a differentiation of citizens between those considered as positive elements of the community versus those whose contribution is deemed unnecessary (as they are unable to fend for themselves, unemployed individuals are not expected by society to conform to traditional standards). In this way, unemployment leads to social stratification, an issue that should be eradicated in contemporary society (Erickson, 2014).
In conclusion, unemployment can be alleviated if enough focus is employed in its eradication. As in other instances where the government has improved the lives of its citizens, unemployment should be dealt with as it is the root cause of many ills. The use of preventive measures such as state-sponsored learning for low-income families, lowering the retirement age and government programs that integrate young people in the workforce can help rid nations of social vices arising due to unemployment’s existence.
- BLS. (2017, October 24). Unemployment rates and earnings by educational attainment. Retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm
- Erickson, J. (2014, November). A Question of Growth. Scottish Affairs (pp. 65-77). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2003.0023
- United States Department of Labor. Office of Unemployment Insurance. (2017, May 18). ETA 203: Characteristics of the Insured Unemployed. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor]. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3886/E100643V1
