ABSTRACT
Unemployment since the early 1980s has come to be seen as a serious social problem in many industrialised societies. The psychological distress suffered by the unemployed today appears to be compounded by their own pessimism and by the hostile attitude of society to them. Social attitudes to unemployment are influenced by the fact that it is unevenly distributed throughout society. The psychological effects of failing to find employment on young school leavers may well be different from the effects of job loss on mature workers. Statistical evidence of an association between increases in youth unemployment and increases in reports of juvenile delinquency does not demonstrate a causal connection. Psychosomatic disorders are physical symptoms that arise primarily as a result of exposure to psychological stress.
