Unemployment

I chose unemployment, which is discussed in chapter 7, as my topic for this post because with the economic climate the way it is, I think that unemployment is a very real social problem that affects individuals, their children, and families in general as well as all of society. Unemployment could also continue to grow in America and thus I think it is a social problem to be discussed.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/29521294

Smith, R. "I Feel Really Ashamed": How Does Unemployment Lead To Poorer Mental Health?. British Medical Journal (Clinical Research Edition), 291, 1409-1412.

This link directs to an article written by Richard Smith that discusses the effects of being unemployed on mental health. This article actually showcases two social problems: unemployment and mental health and shows how one problem can impact another.

This photograph symbolizes unemployment because it displays how prevalent unemployment is and how much of a concern it should be to Americans.

"And that's just the beginning. More and more, conventional wisdom says that the responsible thing is to make the unemployed suffer. And while the benefits from inflicting pain are an illusion, the pain itself will be all too real."-Paul Krugman

This quote represents my feelings on unemployment because it seems like there is definitely a stigma against the unemployed with how the unemployed are seen as lazy. However in reality the pain the unemployed face and the potential pain that it inflicts on society is a very real social problem.

This video from CBS News regarding unemploymeny is relevant because it discusses individuals' experience with unemployment and it even discusses how it affects mental health with how unemployment "erodes self-confidence".

http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
This link to the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the unemployment rate by month all the way back to 1948.

http://www.deptofnumbers.com/unemployment/demographics/

This link to the Department of Numbers site, shows unemployment rates broken into the demographic groups of education, race, gender and age.