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Psychological Factors Affecting The Psychological Effects

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Unemployment has become a very prominent issue worldwide; moreover in the United States the unemployment rates have been persistently high. Since December 2008, the unemployment rate in America has been over 7 percent, and in late 2009 it peaked at 10 percent (Nichols, Mitchell, and Lindner 1). Despite the gradual improvements in the labor market, the supply of workers available in relation to available work, long-term unemployment – the share of the unemployed who have been out of work for more than six months – remains at unprecedented levels. The fraction of unemployed workers who are long-term unemployed has hovered around 40 percent from late 2009 into 2013, although it had never previously risen above 30 percent since the Great …show more content…

A certain cost of unemployment that considerably outweighs other factors is the non-pecuniary cost (Carroll 287). Non-pecuniary is anything that does not consist of money. The main non-pecuniary cost is distress and decreased psychological well being. This is shown in many different forms and can be influenced and modified by many different aspects. There are many factors involved in the severity of these psychological effects of unemployment. All of the factors join together to lead to a bigger object: the psychological well being of the unemployed individual and the psychological effects of unemployment. Factors Affecting the Psychological Effects “Many studies have concluded that unemployment is a health hazard – the subtle implication being that it is better to be employed than unemployed” (O’Brien 240). The factors that affect the impact of unemployment on the psychological well being of the unemployed individual are major to the severity of these psychological effects. “Unemployment has a large negative effect on individual well being” (Knabe, Andreas, and Ratzel). The predominant mood expressed by the unemployed was reported to be anger and hopelessness (O’Brien 187). “They were generally ashamed of their own inability to find work, but rather of their misery” (O’Brien 187). There are many factors that take a play in this and better explain the

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