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Literature Review

Unemployment, especially youth unemployment, is a major global issue but particularly affects the Caribbean region which has the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Jamaica has an unemployment rate of 13.5% with over 30% of youth unemployed. Many factors contribute to high unemployment levels in Caribbean societies including issues of wealth, education levels, disabilities, and a lack of sufficient jobs. Unemployment has both social and economic effects on individuals and can negatively impact mental health, family relationships, and job prospects over time. This literature review examines the causes and effects of unemployment to inform a study on unemployment in a specific Jamaican community.

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Kymani Sutherland
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117 views2 pages

Literature Review

Unemployment, especially youth unemployment, is a major global issue but particularly affects the Caribbean region which has the highest youth unemployment rates in the world. Jamaica has an unemployment rate of 13.5% with over 30% of youth unemployed. Many factors contribute to high unemployment levels in Caribbean societies including issues of wealth, education levels, disabilities, and a lack of sufficient jobs. Unemployment has both social and economic effects on individuals and can negatively impact mental health, family relationships, and job prospects over time. This literature review examines the causes and effects of unemployment to inform a study on unemployment in a specific Jamaican community.

Uploaded by

Kymani Sutherland
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Literature Review

Unemployment and underemployment are very big issues globally, but especially in the
Caribbean, as the Caribbean poses the highest youth unemployment rates in world. In Jamaica, almost
two-thirds of the underemployed persons fall in the 25 to 44 age range, and almost another 40% is
unemployed (Forbes 2015). An article posted in The Gleaner by Makyn, (2016) states that Jamaica’s
unemployment rate is at 13.5% with youth unemployment above 30 percent.

According to Pantin (1996), many factors contribute to these high levels of unemployment
within the Caribbean society. Some of which are the issues of: wealth/Income/Social Class, in that some
people cannot afford job training to begin with, the factor of educational status, disabled persons not
being able to access jobs and job training programmes, as well as the failure of the economy to provide
sufficient jobs especially in preferred areas. Pantin also states that certain people are more at risk for
unemployment, these individuals are predominantly male, 15-19/21, come from the dysfunctional
family and community backgrounds, and has only some secondary education (incomplete) or little
formal education and ascribe to sub-cultures marked by substance abuse and criminal activity. Many of
these factors have been observed among Winchester residents, and so it is practical to further research
these causes within the district and the occurrence of such.

These views are also corroborated by “Ins and Outs of Youth Unemployment” (2010), which
also presents additional causes of unemployment. Some of which are geographical unemployment,
frictional employment, underground economy i.e., there are unofficial jobs for people to take (some of
which maybe illegal) and hysteresis. As defined by Investopedia, Online Dictionary.

‘’’…hysteresis arises when a single disturbance affects the course of the economy. An example of
hysteresis in economics is the delayed effects of unemployment. As unemployment increase, more
people adjust to a lower standard of living. As they become accustomed to the lower standard of living,
people may not be as determined to achieve the previously desired higher living standard. In addition,
as more people become unemployed, it becomes more socially acceptable to be or remain unemployed.
After the labor market returns to normal, some unemployed people may be disinterested in returning to
the work force.’’’

Unemployment has various social and economic effects on the lives of individuals. It may be
difficult for unemployed persons to supply their basic needs and for household maintenance. Those with
family responsibilities cannot take care of their families as well as they should and are unable to send
their children to school. To further complicate the situation, the individual is out of a job the more
difficult it becomes to find one. Employers find employment gasps as a negative aspect. Unemployed
persons usually have to depend on others for some amount of money for their daily living, or money
from the government; such as P.A.T.H in Jamaica. This money, however, may only be a little from what
friends and family can afford to spare, and may not adequately suffice.
According to Shamir (1986), being unemployed also has mental effects on individuals, such as
development of mental health issues like depression, hopelessness, inadequateness, and low self-
esteem. This agrees with another study by McKee-Ryan song, Wanberg, & Kinicki (2005) which found
that compared to stably employed workers, those who have lost their jobs have significantly poorer
mental health, lower life satisfaction, less marital or family satisfaction, and poorer subjective physical
health, Quarrels and arguments at home may also arise through feelings of frustration and restlessness.
Skilled individuals may eventually lose their skills/training due to inadequate usage.

A study done by Dodey & Prause (2004) showed that unemployment is associated with decrease
self-esteem, increased alcohol usage, and elevated rates of depression. There is a stigma associated with
being unemployed, many may look on unemployed persons as “worthless” “lazy” etc., this added
discrimination makes it harder for unemployed persons, and also affects relationships.

Therefore, one will seek to ascertain the causes of unemployment and the effects of
unemployment among respondents of my area of study, as well as the age group most affected.
Questions will be developed to see if the findings of this research agree with or present a conflict with
existing literature, and may provide additional information to develop theories associated with
unemployment. This study should provide a narrower scope on how this phenomenon affects this small
group of people, which may not have been adequately researched and/or represented in previous
studies.

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