UNEMPLOYMENTProblems of Inequality and Power

Katerina Antipas

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

• The unemployment rate measures the number of people actively looking for a job as a percentage of the labour force.

• Changes in the unemployment rate are due to non-employed people start looking for jobs and employed people who lose their jobs and look for new ones, and people who stop looking for employment

• Unemployment is a difficult experience for anyone, including Canadians. The loss of work and an income, unemployment also includes hardships for the individual and their families.

• Unemployment and inequality are closely related to each other. Studies have revealed that unemployment has been the major reason for economic inequality in most of the developing and less developed economies of the world. The unskilled labours are the worse affected in all these cases.

UNEMPLOYMENT

• Unemployment rates are a useful measure of the health of an economy over time, as it has both social and economic implications.

• Rising unemployment results in the loss of income for individuals, reduced collection of taxes for governments, and increased spending on social benefits by governments.

• Long term unemployment also hinders future economic growth

• The effects of high unemployment in one country can have a major impact on the economies of other partnering countries as it leads to a decrease in demands for imports.

GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS

• The global economic crisis that began in 2007-2008 has had a huge effect on the number of unemployed people around the world.

• The International Labour Organization estimates that unemployment rose from 178 million in 2007, to 197 million on 2012, with a peak of 212 million in 2009

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

• Current unemployment rate in Canada is 7%

• Unemployment rate has averaged 7.75% in Canada from 1966 until 2014.

• The highest recorded unemployment rate in Canada was 13.10% in 1982

• The lowest recorded unemployment rate in Canada was 2.90 in 1966

• According to Labour Force survey (2014), employment decreased in Quebec and British Columbia, while it increased in Alberta and Nova Scotia.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

• Unemployment Rate in Canada

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

• In 2012, the unemployment rate was 7.7% for men and 6.8% for women

• In 2012, the unemployment rate ranged from 4.6% for individuals 65 years old and over to 14.3% for youth from the age of 15-24.

• The unemployment rate is higher for lone parents, recent immigrants, Aboriginal people and people with disabilities. In 1006, the rate was 12.6% for recent immigrants and 14.8% for Aboriginal People.

UNEMPLOYMENT IN CANADA

UNEMPLOYMENT INTERNATIONALLY

• The highest unemployment rates were in Italy (12.2%) and France (10.7%)

• The lowest unemployment rate was in Japan (3.4%)

• The United States unemployment rate hit a record high in 2010 of 9.6% (Currently, 7.7%)

• Greece’s unemployment rate hit record high of 11.7% in 2012

UNEMPLOYMENT INTERNATIONALLY

UNEMPLOYMENT: A SOCIAL PROBLEM

• According to the American Psychological Association, “unemployed workers are twice as likely as their employed counterparts to experience physiological problems such as depression, anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms, low subjective well-being and poor self-esteem” (Paul & Moser, 2009)

• The same survey details that effects of unemployment directly impact families, and children. “The stress and depressive symptoms associated with job loss can negatively affect parenting practices such as increasing punitive and arbitrary punishment” (McLoyd, 1998)

UNEMPLOYMENT: A SOCIAL PROBLEM

• Unemployment also has a prominent negative effect on communities. “ Widespread unemployment in neighborhoods reduces resources, which may result in inadequate and low-quality housing, underfunded schools, restricted access to services and public transportation, and limited opportunities for employment, making it more difficult for people to return to work.” (Brisson, Roll & East, 2009)

REASON FOR UNEMPLOYMENT

• According to many economists the economic reforms and deregulation of labour markets have contributed to unemployment and inequality to a great extent.

• The increased use of technology in the manufacturing sector has led to job shrinkage, which in turn has further intensified the problem of equality.

SOLUTION

• Government policies , both at the national and provincial/state levels to increase productive employment.

• Bring the jobs that have been outsourced for cheaper labour overseas back home. It is important to bring back the middle class that has recently shrunk due to outsourcing

• The redistribution of wealth globally. Half of the worlds wealth ($110 Trillion) is owned by 1% of the population.

SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY• I believe that unemployment best relates to the conflict theory.

• Various social institutions only serve the interests of the dominant class (wealthy class)

• Normal members of society continue to be exploited and to accept that poverty results from personal failure rather than a flawed economic structure.

• Laws and polices benefit the wealthy at the expense of society at large. Examples include subsidies and tax breaks to corporations.

• “While economic reform has benefited many wealthy corporations and investors, it has also resulted in increasing levels of global poverty. As companies relocate to countries with abundant supplies of cheap labour, wages decline. Lower wages lead to decreased customer spending, which leads to more industries closing plants, bankruptcies, and downsizing” (Mooney, 2013)

• I believe conflict theory is the reason that unemployment and inequality exist today. The rich push down the poor to keep getting ahead, and keep them poor and not asking questions.

REFERENCES• Global Finance. Unemployment Rates in Countries Around the World. (n.d.). Retrieved From:

http://www.gfmag.com/component/content/article/119-economic-data/12384-worlds-unemployment-ratescom.html#axzz2xNSLmTYh

• Economy Watch. Unemployment and Inequality. (2010). Retrieved From

• Bureau of Labour Statistics. International Labour Comparisons. (2013). Retrieved From: http://www.bls.gov/fls/intl_unemployment_rates_monthly.htm

• Employment and Social Development Canada. Work- Unemployment Rate. (2014). Retrieved From: http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=16

• American Psychological Association. Psychological Effects of Unemployment and Underemployment. (2014). Retrieved From: https://www.apa.org/about/gr/issues/socioeconomic/unemployment.aspx

• Trading Economics. Canada Unemployment Rate. (2013). Retrieved From: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate

• Statistics Canada. Labour Fource Survey, February 2014. (February 2014). Retrieved From: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/140307/dq140307a-eng.htm

• Mooney, L. A., Morgan, H., David, K., & Caroline, S. (2013). Understanding social problems. (Custom ed., pp. 335-336). Toronto: Nelson.