ABSTRACT
The economic cost of unemployment is almost impossible to measure. The explanation favoured by most world leaders is that the higher unemployment experienced in their countries is not the fault of their own economic policy; it is the result of a phenomenon called “the world recession”. There are scientists who are hoping that careful analysis of the incidence of unemployment in various countries will enable them to pinpoint precisely the part of the universe from which it emanates. It is a simple matter to add up all the social security payments made to those out of work. The advantage of this method is that the total can be calculated accurately to the last penny. The real cost to the community as a whole is the output which is lost — the goods and services which would have been produced if the unemployed had been at work.
