The Plague of Unemployment

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN ITALY

It is an emergency in several developed countries—but it also worries developing nations. It has struck where it once seemed nonexistent. It affects hundreds of millions of people—many of whom are mothers and fathers. For two thirds of Italians, it is “threat number one.” It creates new social illnesses. In part, it is at the root of the problems of many young people who become involved in drugs. It disturbs the sleep of millions, and for millions of others, it could be just around the corner . . .

“UNEMPLOYMENT is probably the most widely feared phenomenon of our times,” affirms the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). “The extent and consequences of this phenomenon are known,” writes the Commission of European Communities, but “dealing with it is arduous.” It is “a specter,” says one expert, that is “returning to haunt the streets of the Old Continent.” In the European Union (EU), the unemployed now number about 20 million, and in October 1994, in Italy alone they officially numbered 2,726,000. As far as European Union commissioner Padraig Flynn is concerned, “tackling unemployment is the most important social and economic challenge we face.” If you are unemployed or in danger of losing your job, you know the fear it causes.

But unemployment is not just a European problem. It afflicts all American countries. It does not spare Africa, Asia, or Oceania. Eastern European nations have been feeling the pinch in recent years. True, it does not strike in the same way everywhere. But according to some economists, unemployment rates in Europe and North America will long remain much higher than in previous decades.a And the situation is “worsened by the increase of underemployment and by a general deterioration in the quality of jobs available,” points out economist Renato Brunetta.

An Implacable March

Unemployment has hit all sectors of the economy one by one: first agriculture, with its increased mechanization, which puts people out of work; then industry, which has been affected by the energy crises from the 1970’s on; and now, the service sector—commerce, education—a sector previously considered unassailable. Twenty years ago an unemployment rate in excess of 2 or 3 percent would have caused great alarm. Today an industrialized nation is doing well if unemployment is kept below 5 or 6 percent, and many developed nations have much higher rates.

According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), an unemployed person is one who is without work, is prepared to work, and is actively looking for work. But what about a person who does not have a permanent full-time job or one who manages to work just a few hours a week? Part-time work is considered differently from one country to another. In certain nations some who in reality are unemployed are officially counted as employed. Ill-defined situations between employment and unemployment make it difficult to determine who really is unemployed, and for this reason statistics describe only part of the reality. “Even the official number of 35 million unemployed [in OECD countries] does not reflect the full extent of joblessness,” says one European study.

The High Price of Unemployment

But the numbers do not tell the whole story. “The economic and social costs of unemployment are enormous,” says the Commission of European Communities, and they result “not only from the direct expense of welfare payments for the unemployed but also from loss in terms of fiscal revenue to which the unemployed would contribute were they active.” And unemployment benefits are becoming increasingly burdensome not only for governments but also for the employed, who are subjected to increased taxes.

Unemployment is not just a matter of facts and figures. Individual dramas are the result, for this plague strikes people—men, women, and youths of every social class. Combined with all the other problems of these “last days,” unemployment can prove to be a tremendous burden. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 6:5, 6) Especially if hit by “long-term unemployment,” all else being equal, the person who has been out of work for a long time will find it even more difficult to land a job. Sadly, some may never be employed again.b

Psychologists find that among today’s unemployed, psychiatric and psychological problems are increasing, as well as emotional instability, frustration, progressive apathy, and loss of self-respect. When a person with children to care for loses a job, it is a terrible personal tragedy. The world has collapsed around them. Security has evaporated. Today, in fact, some experts note the emergence of an “anticipatory anxiety” related to the possibility of losing one’s job. This anxiety can seriously affect family relations and can have even more tragic results, as recent suicides of unemployed persons may indicate. Furthermore, the difficulty of breaking into the labor market is among the probable causes of violence and social alienation of young people.

‘Prisoners of a Perverse System’

Awake! has interviewed a number of people who have lost their jobs. Fifty-year-old Armando said that for him it meant “seeing the efforts of 30 years’ work frustrated, having to start over,” and feeling “like a prisoner of a perverse system.” Francesco ‘saw the world collapse on top of him.’ Stefano “felt a profound sense of disappointment in the present system of life.”

On the other hand, Luciano, fired after working in technical management of an important Italian automobile industry for almost 30 years, “experienced anger and delusion on seeing that his efforts, scruples, and trustworthiness during so many years of work were considered as nothing.”

Forecasts and Disappointments

Some economists had anticipated very different scenarios. In 1930 economist John Maynard Keynes optimistically forecast “work for all” within the next 50 years, and for decades full employment has been considered an attainable goal. In 1945 the Charter of the United Nations organization set as a goal the rapid achievement of full employment. Until quite recently it was believed that progress would mean a job and fewer hours at work for all. But things have not turned out that way. The serious recession of the last decade has caused the “worst global employment crisis since the Great Depression of the ’30’s,” says the ILO. In South Africa at least 3.6 million people are out of work, including some 3 million black Africans. Even Japan—with over two million out of work last year—is going through a crisis.

Why is unemployment such a widespread plague? What solutions have been proposed to deal with it?

Unemployment—Why?

IN SEVERAL countries many people are forced to support themselves by hard physical work for long hours at an exhausting pace, perhaps even doing a dangerous job for little pay. Until recently many in other lands were certain that once hired by a large company or by a state-run department, they would have a secure job until retirement. But today there no longer seem to be businesses or corporations that are able to offer desirable employment and security at any level. Why?

Reasons for the Problem

Thousands of young people cannot even find their first job—whether they have a college degree or not. In Italy, for example, more than a third of the unemployed are people between the ages of 15 and 24. The average age of those who are already working and are trying to keep their jobs increases, and so it is more difficult for young people to get into the labor market. Even among women—who are more and more present in the labor market—there is a high rate of unemployment. Thus, an exceptionally large wave of new workers is now struggling to be absorbed.

From the time of the first industrial machines, technical innovation has reduced the need for workers. In the face of long grueling shifts, laborers hoped that machines would reduce work or even abolish it. Automation has increased production and has eliminated many dangers, but it has also reduced jobs. Those who become redundant risk long-term unemployment unless they learn new skills.

We risk being submerged by an overabundance of commercial products. Some feel we have already reached the limits of growth. In addition, with fewer employed, there are fewer buyers. The market thus produces more than can be consumed. No longer economically viable, large plants built to handle expected increases in production are being closed down or converted. Trends like these reap victims—those who become unemployed. In economic recession, demand for workers diminishes, and jobs lost during recessions are hardly ever re-created during times of expansion. Clearly, unemployment has more than one cause.

A Social Plague

Since it may strike anyone, unemployment is a social plague. Some countries provide various mechanisms for safeguarding those who are still working—for example, a reduced workweek with reduced pay. This may, however, damage the prospects of others looking for work.

Both the employed and the unemployed protest more and more frequently about job-related problems. But while the unemployed call for new jobs, the ones having a job try to protect their own security—two objectives that are not always compatible. “Those with a job are often invited to work longer hours. Those who are out stay out. There is the risk that society may split in two . . . on the one hand, the superemployed and on the other, the alienated unemployed, who are almost completely dependent on the goodwill of the others,” says the Italian magazine Panorama. In Europe, say experts, the fruits of economic growth have been absorbed principally by those already working, rather than by the jobless.

What is more, unemployment is tied to the state of the local economy, so that in certain nations, such as Germany, Italy, and Spain, huge differences exist between the needs of one area and those of another. Are workers willing to learn new skills or even to move to another area or to another country? This can often be a decisive factor.

Are There Any Solutions in View?

For the most part, hopes are set on an economic upturn. But some people are skeptical and think that such an upturn will not occur until about the year 2000. For others, recovery has already begun, but it is slow in producing results, as is evident from the recent drop in employment in Italy. Economic recovery does not necessarily mean a reduction in unemployment. While growth is modest, businesses prefer to utilize better the staff they already have rather than to employ others—that is, there is “jobless growth.” Further, the number of unemployed often grows faster than the number of new jobs created.

Today national economies are undergoing globalization. Some economists think that the creation of great, new supranational trading areas, such as those of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), may also give impetus to the world economy. However, this trend induces large corporations to establish themselves where labor is cheaper, with the result that industrialized nations lose jobs. At the same time, workers who are not as well-off see their already meager earnings diminish. It is no coincidence that in a number of countries, many have demonstrated, even violently, against these trade agreements.

The experts suggest many recipes for fighting unemployment. Some are even contradictory, depending on whether they are suggested by economists, politicians, or workers themselves. There are those who propose offering companies incentives to increase personnel by reducing the tax burden. Some advise massive state intervention. Others suggest distributing work differently and reducing hours. This has already been done in some large companies, even though during the last century, the workweek has been systematically reduced in all industrialized nations without a reduction in unemployment. “In the long term,” maintains economist Renato Brunetta, “every policy turns out to be ineffective, with costs that exceed benefits.”

“We should not delude ourselves,” concludes the magazine L’Espresso, “the problem is difficult.” Too difficult to resolve? Is there a solution to the problem of unemployment?

[Box on page 8]

An Ancient Problem

Unemployment is an old problem. For centuries people have on occasion found themselves involuntarily without work. Once the job was finished, tens of thousands of workers used in large construction projects then became unemployed themselves—at least until they were absorbed elsewhere. In the meantime they led a rather precarious existence, to say the least.

During the Middle Ages, “even though a problem of unemployment in the modern sense did not yet exist,” the unemployed did. (La disoccupazione nella storia [Unemployment in History]) In those days, however, any who did not work were considered, more than anything else, to be good-for-nothings or vagabonds. As late as the 19th century, many British analysts “associated the unemployed primarily with the ‘roughs’ and vagrants who slept out or walked the streets at night,” explains Professor John Burnett.—Idle Hands.

The “discovery of unemployment” took place near the end of the 19th century or the beginning of the 20th. Special government commissions were instituted to study and resolve the problem, such as the Select Committee of the British House of Commons on “Distress From Want of Employment,” in 1895. Joblessness had become a social plague.

This new awareness grew dramatically, particularly after the first world war. That conflict, with its frenetic arms production, had practically eliminated unemployment. But beginning in the 1920’s, the Western world faced a series of recessions culminating in the Great Depression that began in 1929 and struck all the industrialized economies of the world. After the second world war, many countries experienced a new economic boom, and unemployment dropped. But “the beginnings of today’s unemployment problem can be traced back to the mid-1960s,” says the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The labor market suffered a new blow caused by the oil crises of the 1970’s and the computerized information explosion with its consequent layoffs. Unemployment has begun a relentless ascent, cutting into even those white-collar and managerial sectors once considered secure.

Freedom From Unemployment—How and When?

LIKE his Creator, man can experience joy in work, which is rightly defined as a “gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13; John 5:17) An interesting job can give us happiness and make us feel useful and wanted. Hardly anyone wants to lose a job, no matter how little he may enjoy it. Besides guaranteeing a wage, paid employment gives structure, purpose, and a sense of identity to one’s life. It is no coincidence that usually “the unemployed want a job more than anything.”

In Search of a Job

As we have already seen, the situation in the labor market is very complex. As a result, there are many valid methods of looking for a job. Any who are entitled to them can make use of government unemployment benefits where available; and where applicable, they can enroll at unemployment offices and use services offered. Others find a job by creating their own employment. But caution should be exercised. Often the self-employed have to meet heavy initial expenses that may not be easy to pay off. It is also necessary to know and respect fiscal and tax laws—no mean feat in some countries!—Romans 13:1-7; Ephesians 4:28.

To find work, some have made a job of finding a job, dedicating themselves to it with method and perseverance. Others have written to companies that are looking for personnel, or they have put announcements in local newspapers—some of which print job-request announcements free. Awake! has often given useful and practical advice on the subject—for young people and adults alike.a—See boxes, page 11.

You must be adaptable—willing to do all kinds of work, including jobs you do not necessarily like. Experts say that among the first things asked about at job interviews are previous work experience and length of time out of work. Loss of the work rhythm is not a good sign for the potential employer.

A person who wisely spent his time in school acquiring skills has a better chance of finding his first job. “Unemployment,” says Alberto Majocchi, teacher of financial sciences, “especially affects unskilled workers.”

The Importance of Emotional Support

One important factor is a positive outlook. This can make the difference between finding a job and not finding one. The unemployed greatly appreciate emotional support, which helps them avoid isolating themselves or falling into apathy. It also serves to overcome the loss of self-respect that can result from comparing oneself with others who have not lost their jobs.

Making ends meet may not be easy. “Worried as I was, I found it difficult to make good use of the time on my hands,” says Stefano. “The situation made me so tense,” recalls Francesco, “that I began to find fault with some of my dear friends.” This is where the support of the family comes in. The lack of income requires adaptation by all members of the family in order to reduce the standard of living. Franco, fired at the age of 43 after working for the same company for 23 years, says: “Right from the time I was fired, my wife was positive and a source of great encouragement.” Armando is particularly grateful to his wife for “her great prudence in shopping.”—Proverbs 31:10-31; Matthew 6:19-22; John 6:12; 1 Timothy 6:8-10.

Bible principles can help us to keep a positive spirit and not lose sight of the more important values. Those interviewed by Awake!, mentioned above, have drawn comforting reassurance from the Bible. This has made them feel closer to God. (Psalm 34:10; 37:25; 55:22; Philippians 4:6, 7) Having an intimate relationship with Jehovah God is of the utmost importance, for he promises: “I will by no means leave you nor by any means forsake you.”—Hebrews 13:5.

Whether one is unemployed or not, God’s Word encourages one to cultivate qualities useful for everyday living. It is no coincidence that Jehovah’s Witnesses are at times sought after and appreciated as honest workers. They follow the Bible’s counsel to be diligent and reliable, not lazy.—Proverbs 13:4; 22:29; 1 Thessalonians 4:10-12; 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12.

Freedom From the Specter of Unemployment

Underlying the lack of work, there is a root cause—human selfishness and greed. As the Bible says, “man has dominated man to his injury.”—Ecclesiastes 8:9.

The problem of unemployment—and other problems too—will be resolved by the removal of human dominion, now in its “last days.” (2 Timothy 3:1-3) There is need of a world that is really new. Yes, a world in which a righteous human society can live and work under a just and fair rulership, where greed will be no more. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 10; 2 Peter 3:13) That is why Jesus taught people to pray that God’s Kingdom come and that His will be done on earth.—Matthew 6:10.

Prophetically describing the elimination of some of mankind’s principal problems, God’s Word illustrates the effects of that Kingdom: “They will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build and someone else have occupancy; they will not plant and someone else do the eating. . . . The work of their own hands my chosen ones will use to the full. They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance.” (Isaiah 65:21-23) The specter of unemployment will soon disappear for all time. If you would like to know more about God’s solution, please contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area.

[Footnote]

[Box on page 11]

Creating Work at Home

• Baby-sitting, child care

• Selling homegrown vegetables or flowers

• Sewing, altering, and repairing clothing

• Piecework for manufacturers

• Baking and food preparation

• Quilting, crocheting, knitting; making macramé, pottery; other crafts

• Upholstering

• Bookkeeping, typing, home computer services

• Telephone answering service

• Hairdressing

• Taking in boarders

• Addressing and filling envelopes for advertisers

• Washing and waxing cars (customer brings car to your home)

• Pet grooming and exercising

• Lock repair and key making (workshop at home)

• Ads for much of this work can be placed free of charge or at low cost in weekend shopping news or on supermarket notice boards

[Box on page 11]

Creating Work Outside the Home

• House-sitting (when people are on vacation and want their home to be looked after)

• Cleaning: stores; offices; homes and apartments after construction, after fires, after people move out; housework (in homes of others); windows (business and domestic)

• Repairs: appliances of all kinds (libraries contain easy-to-follow books on repairs)

• Handyman jobs: siding houses; building cabinets, doors, porches; painting; fencing; roofing

• Farm work: crops, picking fruit

• Interior landscaping and plant care at: offices, banks, shopping plazas and atriums, lobbies

• Property management: janitors, superintendent (sometimes includes free living quarters)

• Insurance, real estate

• Carpet installation, cleaning

• Newspaper routes (adults and children), other delivery services: ads, bills for municipalities

• Moving, storage

• Landscaping, tree trimming, lawn care, woodcutting

• School-bus driver

• Photography (portraits and public events)

• Bait for fishermen

• Swap work: barter car repairs for electrical work, sewing for plumbing, etc.