Essay on Literature Review on Unemployment

Recently the Age published an article referring to the truth that youth unemployment in Melbourne’s outer suburbs is getting worse (Perkins 2015).

Neither the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander labour force participation rate or the unemployment rate compares favourably to the equivalent non-Indigenous rates. Proportionally, fewer Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were participating in the labour force, with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander labour force participation rate 20.5 percentage points lower than the non-Indigenous rate (55.8% compared with 76.4%). Additionally, a greater proportion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participating in the labour force were unemployed, with the unemployment rate more than three times higher (11.7 percentage points) than the non-Indigenous rate (17.2% compared with 5.5%)”.

Unemployment: As can be seen in Fig 3 below, the unemployment rate in Australia has recently dropped below 5.8%, which is the lowest it has been for over 20 months. This is despite the economy struggling over the previous 12 months due to a fall in investment in the mining industry. This has led to the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) reducing interest rates on two occasions in the past 12 months to encourage the non-mining sectors of the economy to fill this void and invest in resources, but some businesses are still reluctant to spend money. NAB economist Tapas Strickland said he expected strong jobs growth to continue into 2016, stating “ The forward indicators, such as jobs ads, suggest employment growth of 2% a year, and when you do the calculations, that implies 20,000 (jobs added) per month”. (Guardian, 2015).

Health risk increased with unemployment. There is evident that the health risk is higher in areas where unemployment is common. Stable and secure work improves to individual’s job satisfaction, well-being and health. Deteriorate illness and premature death caused by higher unemployment (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). A number of research form many foreign countries shows individuals and their families face comparatively high risk of premature death (Wilkinson & Marmot 2003). Australia indigenous peoples accounted for 2.4% of the Australian population, the impact of factors such as unemployment, imprisonment, low-income, eligible housing, lead them to life expectancy 9-12 years less than other Australian population(Cunningham & Paradies 2013).

Carvalho (2015) claimed that every year number of young Australians enter the labour market and they get trouble while searching for the job due to lack of experience, low skill, skill mismatch. Unemployment is not problem of Australia only rather it has become the global issue.

I believe that being unemployed for a prolonged period may be a detriment to physical and mental health due to overwhelming stress. The idea of unemployment being detrimental to health correlates with Pharr’s (2012) and Janlert’s (2014) researches on the impact of unemployment on mental and physical health. Both concluded similarly that people who have been unemployed for prolonged period have poor mental health compared to the employed, Pharr (2012) also stated that unemployed people are hesitant to receive medical treatment for physical health due to cost. Stress contributes to poor mental health but also feelings of disappointment and shame towards

“In early 2016, the ABS Labor force found that 258,000 youth aged 15-24 was unemployed” (ABS, 2016), accounting for over a third of total unemployment (721,400 people)” (ABS, 2016). There are several reasons youth unemployment exists in Australia, with the primary cause being low economic

Unemployment refers to when an individual is actively seeking work and is aged 15 years or over, but is unable to find work (not hired). There are many causes and effects of unemployment that result in different actions being made by the Australian government through their use of both monetary policy as well as fiscal policy.

Studies suggest that low SES slightly increases the risk of episode onset and moderately increases the risk for persistence of depression.Which is not just limited to the bottom SES(Mcmullin, J., Davis, L, 2010, Pg.193). This shows that the frequency and length of depression depends on a person’s socio-economic status. The two major explanation, used to analyze the relationship between SES and mental health, include; substandard housing, environmental toxins, and the lack of access to health care(Ibid). This means the type of environment in which you grow up in, matters to your health. This is why those leaving in poverty, are more likely to experience depression that persists for a longer period of time. Another link between SES and mental health, is through stress. Stress can be extremely worst, when there are fewer or no coping resources available, such as financial resources and social support. Stress can also result from unemployment. A globe and mail newspaper reported that recent layoff in the construction industry, led to the demand for mental health services amongst Ontario men(Mcmullin, J., Davis, L, 2010Pg.194). Being played off from work, can affect a person psychologically such as a person’s self esteem, making them feel really worthless

Unemployment is a social problem in Australia, which affects a majority of society in many ways. Not only can it cause financial debt to families, but from there it can cause family breakdowns, social isolation, shame and it can even lead to violence. The Conflict theory perspective explains how unemployment can be caused by class and power by focusing on the inequality within society. The inequality sequentially predicts that the poorer members of society struggle to find employment, to be able to get education to find suitable employment and are.

K.Moser found that unemployment was a key factor in health issues in society, mortality rates were higher for those who were unemployed and the prospect of unemployment is detrimental to the health of an individual. M.H.Brenner (1977) suggested loss of a job is like bereavement but isn’t seen or respect as such (7).

In the past decade, unemployment has been a major issue in this country. Individuals rely on their work to be able to provide many basic life requirements. A person’s career can provide more than just physical needs and this would include creative urges, promote self-esteem, and encourage personal achievements. Therefore, when a person becomes unemployed, they might experience anxiety and depression. This could lead to lower self-esteem especially when the search for work continues long term without any success. These new health issues can lead to increased health issues and the development of new disease states. This correlation among the unemployed patient population and the increase of mental health and new disease states should be

Sociologists study human society. Their subject matter includes human behaviour in various social contexts, social interaction, social institutions and organisation, social change and development (Haralmbos, Van Krieken, Smith & Holborn 1999). For this reason, unemployment is an issue which sociologists delve. Unemployment has far reaching affects in all areas of society. Stratification in the areas of age, race, class, gender, ethnicity, sex and disability is rife amongst the employed and unemployed alike, unemployment creates further segregation amongst these already stratified people. This essay will look at unemployment from the functional and conflict theory

Sociologists study human society. Their studies include human behavior in many social contexts such as social interaction, social institutions and organization, social change and development (Abraham). Because of the broad spectrum of social circumstances that are studied, unemployment is an issue in which sociologists thrive. Conflict in the areas of age, race, gender, and disability is common among the employed as well as the unemployed.  From a sociological perspective, unemployment can be studied through both the Functionalist Theory and Conflict Theory.  It also touches upon the results of unemployment in societies and institutions such as family, education, government, and health. Unemployment affects almost everyone to some extent

Meltzer et al., (1995) argues that the unemployed and unskilled have more mentally unstable symptoms compared to those in employment. Also, the fear of being unemployed and job insecurity has a disadvantageous effect on health (Bartley et al., 1996).