What Are The Consequences Of Unemployment?

One portion of a recent Congressional Budget Office report (released 16 February 2012) on high unemployment recounts some facts about effects of unemployment what should seem obvious, but bear repeating. Ultimately it is the human costs of an economy racked by the consequences of Bush-era capitalism gone wild that will take the biggest tool on the U.S.

Unemployment line in California.

From the CBO report–

Households with unemployed workers are adversely affected by joblessness in many ways.

For workers who have been displaced through no fault of their own—for example, those who lost or left a job because their plant or company closed or moved—the drop in earnings associated with losing a job during a recession may persist for many years, even when these workers eventually find a new job.

Older workers and those with long tenure in their previous job are especially vulnerable because new jobs for those workers typically pay less and offer less potential for earnings growth.

Other types of unemployed workers—for example, people entering the labor market for the first time (typically after completing school)—are also adversely affected by a weak economy.
People who start their career in times of high unemployment tend to have persistently lower earnings than their counterparts who begin seeking work under better economic circumstances.

In addition to its immediate and lasting effects on earnings and family finances, unemployment is also correlated with deteriorating mental and physical health and with increased mortality.