Unemployment

One of the first things a person does when he enters the world of independence is looking for a job. The prospect is quite simple. One needs a continuous source of income to keep oneself in a self-sustaining and yet comfortable lifestyle. More often than not, one of the greatest factors that drives a person to hunt for work is the fear of poverty.

In order for man to survive, he has to work. Since the dawn of time, man has struggled with everyday life to sustain his physical being here on earth and strengthen his soul in preparation for the life after this one. Whether it may be cavemen hunting deer and harvesting the fruit of trees or executives spending day after day in an air-conditioned office and staring into a computer screen, work has been the means of economic survival.

Naturally, when the means of survival are not there, then life begins to falter. Little by little, it is stripped away from a human being. He is plunged deeper into hardship and suffering, a state commonly referred to as poverty.

There are many definitions of poverty. But the most widely known is the state wherein a person has very little or no finances, education, and a voice to be recognized by others. These are the people who dwell in the slums, under the bridges and freeways, and beside the polluted rivers that run through Manila’s cities. They are the poor. They are marginalized by society and shut out by the higher classes.

Poverty as the result of unemployment works both ways. It also brings about unemployment.

The most basic reason why long term unemployment leads to poverty is the lack of a source of income. If a person simply does not have the ability to sustain his payments on food, clothing, shelter, healthcare and basic services, then he will go down in the "social hierarchy" (if such exists in a society) and ultimately find himself in a life devoid of comfort and decency, if not the life after mortal death.

The other factors that complete this poverty-unemployment cycle complement one another. It’s just a circle that follows one element in an endless loop, unless something is done.

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