Introduction
Unemployment is a significant problem that society faces, which is connected with increased risks of addictions, homelessness, and mental health issues. Regardless of all government and community attempts to solve this problem, there is no single way to do it. Economic recession is one of the concerns that the state cannot easily crack, which is the primary cause of the lack of job opportunities. As a result, the only thing the community can do to alleviate the adverse consequences of unemployment is to safeguard individuals from chronic unemployment that destroys their lives and health.
Literature Review
Mental health problems are among the most harmful consequences of unemployment in the long-term perspective, leading to substance abuse and homelessness. Nolte-Troha et al. (2023) investigated the relationship between unemployment and other psychotropic substances, including nicotine and prescribed and illegal drugs. Researchers have concentrated on the association between substance abuse and the rate of unemployment, with an emphasis on the previously specified causal relationship (Nolte-Troha et al., 2023). The analysis shows that unemployment leads to an increase in drug addiction and many mental health problems.
The critical point is that unemployment and mental health issues are mutually connected. Most research in this area has concentrated on distinct but related topics, like addiction, substance abuse, depression, and schizophrenia (Invisible People, 2023). Unemployment leads to the loss of a stable income, therefore leading to difficulty in providing for the family, which often leads to homelessness.
It may have been explained by the fact that those without jobs are more likely to suffer from mental illnesses, which are often treated with psychoactive prescription medications like hypno-sedatives and (anxiolytic) tranquilizers (Invisible People, 2023). Unemployment is one of the main reasons for homelessness, according to statistics, even though individuals might become homeless for a variety of reasons (Invisible People, 2023). In other words, mental health can lead to unemployment, and unemployment can lead to increasing pressure on mental health.
Other investigations also support the claim that unemployed people frequently become homeless. The American nonprofit National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) studies show that the unemployment rate, median salaries, and pay inequality are all critical factors determining poverty. Poverty rates rise by 0.4 to 0.7% for every 1% increase in unemployment but fall by 2% for every 10% increase in the minimum wage (“The Relationship between Poverty and Unemployment,” 2022). It states that the opportunity to find a job is a critical concern in the community’s attempts to alleviate the burden of homelessness.
Young people often become chronically unemployed, which leads to significant social problems. This tendency started in the 1980s, as the article “The Nature of Youth Unemployment: An Analysis for Policy-Makers: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming” shows. Between January and February of 1981, there was a very tiny decrease in the unemployment rate in Canada, from 8.3 to 8.1 percent. On the other hand, at that time, 367,000, or over 40% of the stock, lost their jobs, while 399,000, or more, gained them (“The Nature of Youth Unemployment,” 1984). One solution to youth unemployment was the establishment of regular benefit payments (“Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy: Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” 1978). In practice, reducing the unemployment rate among young people is ineffective because there are no state initiatives to address this issue.
Interview Insights
The interviews also support the previous theoretical claims, proving their objectivity. The first person I asked about unemployment, its reasons, and its consequences was Mr. SQ. He is a teacher from my middle school who did not teach me personally; I only had him as a sub for some classes. This YouTuber has traveled to poor countries, including Palestine, to help build schools and shelters, give food, and do many more great things to help those in need. I interviewed him because he has firsthand experience with unemployment and the social issues surrounding it. Mr. SQ says that one leading cause of unemployment in many countries is war and reduced job-seeker opportunities.
Another critical problem is corruption in the job system and the practice of hiring based on personal connections. It causes an increase in unemployment and the failure of the country’s economy. Mr. SQ claims, “Gentrification and corruption lead to unemployment, which leads to the hardships some come to face” (Nasser & Mr. SQ, 2023). These conclusions are consistent with the ideas articulated by researchers whose opinions were used in this paper.
Ali is the second individual I interviewed, a man from Yemen. He went to college and earned a degree, but in the end, he could not get a job at a government corporation because he did not have personal acquaintances within the company who could recommend him. Ali opened a store and works there to make a living. He states that it is hard to find a job at a government corporation because only those with friends or relatives who work there can get one.
Many businesses do not hire people based on their grades because it is easy to cheat on tests to improve their grades. Even if a person joins a business, it does not guarantee a stable income because wages are low. He describes the situation with unemployment in Yemen in the following way:
“When I did not get accepted to the government cooperation job, I tried to work in a supermarket as a cashier. The wage was very low; I made around 37,000 real Yemeni (barely over $100) a month. Of course, this did not help, so I quit the job. However, with my father’s help, I opened a store in front of my family’s house and made a living out of it ever since” (Nasser & Ramzi, 2023). Therefore, corruption at the educational level leads to people’s inability to find jobs in the government and business sectors. When they become entrepreneurs themselves, their wages are comparatively low, reflecting the country’s economic problems.
Conclusion
Even though my opinion on the causes and consequences of unemployment did not change, I began to understand this community problem better. The adverse effects of unemployment gradually destroy human life. Chronic inability to find a job leads to poverty, depression, drug addiction, depression, and suicide attempts. The peculiar detail is that mental health can be a cause of unemployment. I always believe that a person’s mental health can be controlled if that person has the will to do something.
However, my perspective on this issue was not consistent with the actual state of things because depression and such severe issues as schizophrenia cannot be controlled only by the human desire to lead an everyday life. These people need specialized help and support from the community and their family members to diagnose their mental health issues promptly and to receive adequate medical support. Therefore, community engagement is significant in minimizing the causes of unemployment and alleviating its harmful consequences.
References
“Does Unemployment Cause Homelessness?,” Invisible People, 2023.
“Research in Corporate Social Performance and Policy : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive, 1978.
“The Nature of Youth Unemployment : An Analysis for Policy-Makers : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming,” Internet Archive, 1984.
“The Relationship between Poverty and Unemployment,” Citibeats, 2022.
Nasser, Mohamed, & Mr. SQ. Interview. Other, 2023.
Nasser, Mohamed, & Ramzi, Ali. Interview. Other, 2023.
Nolte-Troha, Carina et al. “Unemployment and Substance Use: An Updated Review of Studies from North America and Europe,” Healthcare, 2023.