Short-term unemployment is a moderate problem. It causes a small but statistically significant reduction in the person's engagement in society, which is permanent. But it's something people can overcome, and it's never going to be possible to avoid ALL unemployment.
Long-term unemployment is devastating. It kills people. This is the kind we really need to reduce, and instead, it's increasing. Employers stop wanting people around age 40, but the legal retirement age is rising. So that's 30+ years when employment is precarious or impossible for large numbers of people who have little other means of survival. And employers don't want to pay people a lifetime's wage in the 10-20 years of work they seem to be interested in.
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dancing_serpent
Well...
Date: 2015-03-07 06:35 am (UTC)Long-term unemployment is devastating. It kills people. This is the kind we really need to reduce, and instead, it's increasing. Employers stop wanting people around age 40, but the legal retirement age is rising. So that's 30+ years when employment is precarious or impossible for large numbers of people who have little other means of survival. And employers don't want to pay people a lifetime's wage in the 10-20 years of work they seem to be interested in.