Unemployment

(From L. implicare, to enfold, engage). Lack of work, involuntary idleness. A social phenomenon provoked by natural or social disasters and present in virtually all societies and cultures with very few exceptions. Affecting a part of the population that is able to work but cannot find socially necessary employment in order to receive its part of the social product, with which to sustain itself and those family members unable to work. This unjust situation comes about when human beings do not have access to the means of production and cannot acquire on their own the knowledge and skills that would allow them to achieve their capabilities. In societies based on agriculture and livestock, u. arises as a result of monopoly ownership of arable land, pasture, livestock and access to water. In industrial society it occurs during so-called crises of overproduction. Democratic states with advanced labor laws have employment services and unemployment funds, which pay benefits while the unemployed seek work. They also have services for retraining that allow the unemployed to acquire a new skill, trade, or profession. While these state measures and union practices against u. alleviate the situation of the unemployed, they do not bring an end to the scourge of u. There are, in addition to various forms of full u., other forms of partial u. that occur when workers have only part-time work or are given extended time off, or vacation with minimal pay. In many cases companies circumvent labor laws by hiring workers for short periods or less than full time to avoid paying unemployment benefits, in this way effectively violating the rights of the unemployed. There are other hidden forms of u., especially in rural areas, where there are no unemployment services and benefits. A related situation is underemployment, in which workers do odd jobs, occasional work or engage in selling items that people buy in a spirit of public solidarity. U. affects an average of between 3 to 10% of the economically active population in developed countries, and between 10 and 50% in developing countries, where it is the main social evil and the fundamental source of poverty. Marginalized sectors of the population and persons unable to work are not even included in the unemployment lines (in the modern meaning of this term).