How Unemployment Affects Family?

Assignment

You will research and analyze the topic “how unemployment affects the family.” It should include an explanation of what you are analyzing, why it is important, all arguments of the topic, and a section for your thoughts with thorough reasoning and explanations.

How unemployment affects the family?

Unemployment, which is understood as a situation in which an unemployed individual actively seeks employment, is an indicator that provides information regarding the health of the economy. However, in social-economic context, its understanding and impacts are large and profound. We can understand its relevance because unemployment is one of the primary concerns of the economy. It is because unemployment not only yields economic challenges, but also it affects society and its primary social unit, which is family (Schiller, 2016).

There are numerous studies which have examined (empirically and otherwise) the impact of unemployment on the economy and political structure; however, there are very few studies that investigated the effect of unemployment on the economy. It is because unemployment has always been considered a macroeconomic subject and therefore, most of the academic studies/research have analyzed unemployment as a macroeconomic phenomenon (Komarovsky, 2004).

In this academic exercise, our emphasis would be on the impact of unemployment on a typical family. We will also study how families which have a different culture are influenced, or affected by unemployment. Also, we will also attempt to study how unemployment of a wife impacts a family in contrast to unemployment of the husband (Pianin, 2014).

A sole parent had the highest unemployment rate and around a quarter of unemployment was faced by parents that had children that were dependent on them. The study also claims that in the year 1998, the unemployment rate for husband and wives was relatively low in comparison to single parents. However, post-2007 recession studies reveal that soon after the Great Recession (sub-prime mortgage crisis), parent of everyone in nine American children was unemployed (Komarovsky, 2004).

This unemployment in a family (in the form of an unemployed father or mother) puts a family under serious financial strain. It is apparent from the study of literature about unemployment in a family that an unemployed father affects the family more adversely than an unemployed mother. In the case of the unemployed father, the consequences of unemployment, which are both financial and psychological, are sterner (Schiller, 2016).

There are numerous kinds of consequences or the impact of unemployment on a family. Also, culture and community also strongly affect the size of the impact of unemployment on the family. The most apparent effects or consequences are 1) Poverty, 2) Hardship, 3) Health Issues, 4) Strained Relationships and less social influence (Pianin, 2014).

• Poverty: If a father, mother or both are unemployed, a family comes under tremendous financial strain. If one of the parents is unemployed, the financial pressure is not immense, and studies reveal that it usually does not cause poverty. However, if both parents (mother and father) are unemployed, then it causes severe poverty, which affects all members of the family. Poverty, caused by unemployment or any similar economic reason, affects a family in some For instance, a low-income family does not have access to required food and clean water. Also, it cannot exploit various kinds of social-economic and social-political opportunities because of lack of resources (Schiller, 2016).
• Hardship: When a family member, on whom other members of the family are dependent (such as father or mother), does not have an employment, a family suffers because of there, not adequate financial resources to access required food, clean water, clothes and health facilities. A family gets trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty, from which it is hard to break out of (Komarovsky, 2004).
• Health Issues: Studies reveal that unemployment of a family member (mother or father), on whom other family members are dependent, yields health related issues. It is because the low-income limits access to adequate and nutritious food, which is essential to keep an individual healthy. In case both mother and father are unemployed, then the chances of health deterioration increase many folds. It is also essential to understand that once a family member of a financially struggling family becomes sick or his/her health deteriorates, it becomes extremely difficult for that individual to remain an active member of society (Pianin, 2014).
• Health Facilities: As unemployment reduces financial resources dramatically; therefore, unemployed family members and those, who are dependent on that unemployed family member, do not have the necessary access to various health facilities and utilities (Komarovsky, 2004).
• Relationships: Internal and external relationships, because of unemployment, start to come under serious strain. As unemployed people are under a lot of stress; therefore, behavior and attitudes, of unemployment family members, become aggressive. The frustration and disappointment get the better of an unemployed individual causing negative change in behavior and thus in social relationships (Schiller, 2016).

In the end, it is concluded that there is enormous evidence that suggests that unemployment affects a family in more than one way and all its impacts are negative on the family. Therefore, unemployment is a serious subject, which has multi-dimensional impacts on various levels (macro and micro).

References

Komarovsky, M. (2004). The Unemployed Man and His Family: The Effect of Unemployment Upon the Status of the Man in Fifty-nine Families. Rowman Altamira.

Pianin, E. (2014, September 29). New Evidence of How Unemployment Wrecks Families. Retrieved from The Financial Times: http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2014/09/29/New-Evidence-How-Unemployment-Wrecks-Families

Schiller, B. (2016). Essentials of Economics. McGraw-Hill Education.