Unemployment

Unemployment not only affects the concerned individual but his/her entire family as well as the society in which he/she lives. Unemployment brings with it despair, unhappiness and anguish. It forces people to live their lives in a way they do not wish to. Unemployment negatively affects all the factors that make up mental health – self-confidence, sense of worth and hope. With the loss of income, people are not only frustrated economically but mentally as well. They feel inadequate, dejected and hopeless. The tense atmosphere at home and the subsequent squabbles over financial constraints also add to the problem.

Unemployment also causes people to distrust the government. People blame the status quo for lack of sufficient jobs and resent paying sales taxes on products. Society suffers as discontentment rises. With joblessness, the rate of crime, suicide attempts and instability also rise.

M Maaz Mehboob

Karachi