Literature Review: Exploring Unemployment and Related Social Issues

This literature review, prepared by a student, examines the multifaceted impacts of unemployment on individuals and society. It analyzes four key articles: Fryer and Stambe's work on neoliberal austerity and unemployment, Mago's analysis of urban youth unemployment in Africa, Nichols, Mitchell, and Lindner's study on the consequences of long-term unemployment, and Rantakeisu, Starrin, and Hagquist's discussion of unemployment as a double burden. The review highlights how neoliberal policies, economic hardship, and technological advancements contribute to joblessness. It explores the psychological effects of unemployment, including mental health issues and social isolation. Furthermore, it addresses the impact on families, communities, and crime rates. The review emphasizes the need for strategies to mitigate unemployment's detrimental effects and promote social well-being. The references are provided at the end of the document, providing a complete overview of the sources used to create the review.

Running Head: UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL ISSUES
UNEMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL ISSUES
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Literature Review with Annotated Bibliography
1. Fryer, D. and Stambe, R., 2014. Neoliberal austerity and unemployment. The
Psychologist, 27(4), pp.244-248.
 This paper discusses about the neo-liberal fiscal policies that reduces the
public expenditure. It does so by means of cuts to the budget of the local and
central governments, besides benefits, welfare services and privatization of the
public resources. These results in job losses or unemployment. The articles
questions the theoretical, empirical, methodological as well as the ideological
grounds for relationships among unemployment, neoliberalism and
psychology, as a discipline. It further states that unemployment is a part of
neoliberalism rather than a result of the same.
 This study is significant as it studies the austerity of neoliberalism that gives
rise to situations of want, ignorance, disease, idleness and squalor. It paper
brings to focus how the majority of population in the United Kingdom (U. K.)
is affected by unemployment with a record of 2.51 million people suffering
from the disease, called unemployment. This record was according to the
statistics of the labor market, put forth by the U.K. Office for National
Statistics in June 2013. It meant that for every one vacancy, there were almost
five unemployed people, competing for the same. It also studies the
psychological aspect of unemployment, emphasizing that the mass
unemployment led to a revolution and creation of poorer mental health
situations. Unemployment has a prolonged adverse effect on the mental health
of a person, and many-a-times, forcing the person to take up minor jobs with a
lower pay only to make his ends meet.

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2. Mago, S., 2014. Urban youth unemployment in Africa: whither socio-economic
problems. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(9), p.33.
 This article analyzes the future effects of unemployment of the urban youth on
the political and socio-economic fundamentals in Africa. It reflects upon how
the youth in Africa, located in the urban regions, too, lack enough
opportunities for employment and growth. The paper conducts a qualitative
research to study how the national crisis is set on a graph to further increase
the number of unemployed youths in the urban regions of Africa. The paper
further studies and concludes that the government needs to build strong
strategies and look into the regional integration programs to incorporate a
definite solution to this difficult situation. The crisis is evident and alarming as
the data predicts the unemployment for the youth to be as high as twice that of
the unemployed adults.
 This study is significant as it brings out the fact that the majority of the
population in Africa, that is, almost an average of ninety percent resides in the
urban landscape. This results in a teething competition to get a job. This
encourages the youth with an opportunity to entrepreneurship by developing
innovative measures to promote employment for the youth. Technological
unemployment is a serious issue as the scientific advancements have shifted
the industries from a labor-intensive market to a capital-intensive market.
Structural and Cyclical unemployment are other forms of unemployment.
Structural unemployment is caused due to a gap between the knowledge and
practical skills that affects both the new entrants and the terminal ones. While
cyclical unemployment leads to the job loses that occurs during the peaks and
lows in the business cycles of a company. Frictional unemployment, however,

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is another kind of unemployment that is inevitable where one looks forward to
better job opportunities.
3. Nichols, A., Mitchell, J. and Lindner, S., 2013. Consequences of long-term
unemployment. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
 This paper discusses about the long-term effects of unemployment, the
challenges to measuring these effects, the decline in the income, expenditure
and savings, reduction in the status of reemployment and revision of wages,
reduction in the social and human capital. It also oversees the impacts of
unemployment on the future labor market, its effect on the physical as well as
the psychological health, families, children and community as a whole.
 It looks at the data and makes a significant observation about the
unemployment, which has not risen above a number of thirty percent post the
phase of Great Depression. The reduction in income or unemployment
significantly affects the lifetime income and savings, reducing it by a
considerable number. It also affects the social relationships and behavioral
patterns and induces changes in the same. It also leads to the breakdown of the
traditional arrangements in the family in case of persistent unemployment,
typically for men, besides increasing the crime-rates in most of the situations.
In both the developing and developed countries, the increase in crime rates
owe majorly to the increase in the number of unemployed youths and those
with liabilities or similar income burdens. This is a very significant angle to
the situation as it leads to building a better society and living conditions for
all. The society leads the foundation for the development of an individual. The
effect of unemployment can be crucial to the situation as it has a spillover
effect on the society when it comes to the behavioral changes that not only

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affects the individual who is unemployed but also the people associated with
him or her, leading to the development of unhealthy familial and social
situations. Loss of job affects a child in carrying out his or her education as
well as medical expenses when the effect is on the parents, in the process of
unemployment.
4. Rantakeisu, U., Starrin, B. and Hagquist, C., 1997. Unemployment: A double
burden and a public issue. Social Justice Research, 10(2), pp.153-173.
 This article looks as the European countries and the detrimental rise in mass
unemployment in the Western countries of the Europe. It makes a clear
analysis of unemployment as a private and public issue. In the personal
domain, it creates significant impacts on the individual’s life and the beings
dependent on this person. However, in the public domain, unemployment
remains as a situation of shame, neglect and hardship not only for the
unemployed youth but also for the family, as a whole.
 The study makes a significant observation on the situation of unemployment,
stating that more than twenty million people in Europe are unemployed. It also
illuminates on the fact how unemployment affects both the internal and
external life of an individual significantly. It leads to cutting the person off
from both the sides, that is, restricting social communication and a social life
besides carrying a sense of shame. This also hampers the mental stability of
the person and drops down the morale of the person.
Summary
The situation of unemployment affects the individual and the society in various ways.
It affects person’s psychological and physical wellness besides affecting the social ground of
respect and reputation of the person. It affects not only the individual but also the family and

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people dependent on the person, financially. It often leads to involvement of a person in anti-
social activities, growing crime rates and making the society a harmful place. This is not only
a question of social shame in this scenario but transforms into a dangerous situation of crime
and affects the safety levels in a society. The demands continue to exist for the basic needs of
bread and shelter, above medical and educational responsibilities. Therefore, the study
focusses on the stress imposed on not only the individual but also the harmony of the
community that is disrupted in a situation of unemployment.

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References
Fryer, D. and Stambe, R., 2014. Neoliberal austerity and unemployment. The Psychologist,
27(4), pp.244-248.
Mago, S., 2014. Urban youth unemployment in Africa: whither socio-economic problems.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(9), p.33.
Nichols, A., Mitchell, J. and Lindner, S., 2013. Consequences of long-term unemployment.
Washington, DC: The Urban Institute.
Rantakeisu, U., Starrin, B. and Hagquist, C., 1997. Unemployment: A double burden and a
public issue. Social Justice Research, 10(2), pp.153-173.