Unemployment means not getting a job despite being able of doing it, and constantly searching for it. What causes unemployment? What are its types? How to be productive when you are unemployed?

Causes of unemployment:

1. People voluntarily leaving their jobs.
2. Companies outsourcing and transferring their branches to countries where labor is less expensive.
3. An increase in the number of new graduates entering the labor market, compared to a small number of elderly people who retire.
4. Technological progress, where machines have replaced humans in many jobs.
5. Economic stagnation, which means a rise in demand for jobs, in exchange for a decrease in supply.

Some of the main types of unemployment are the following:

1. Frictional unemployment: This is the type of unemployment that occurs when employees leave their job to find a better one.
2. Structural unemployment: This type of unemployment occurs when the worker’s skills, qualifications, and income requirements no longer match the jobs available in the labor market.
3. Cyclical unemployment: one of the most common types, and it occurs when the country faces an economic crisis or downturn.

How to be productive when you are unemployed?

Being unemployed may mean doing nothing at all other than applying for jobs from home. However, this is not true. Here are some things you can do:

1. Volunteer: Volunteering helps you develop your experiences and skills, and improves the way you communicate with others.
2. Learn a new language or skill: You can benefit from being unemployed by improving your CV through learning a new skill or language.
3. Obtain new certificates: Try to take advantage of your free time to obtain new certificates, which will help you expand your chances of getting a job.
4. Attend workshops and training courses: Workshops and training courses are an opportunity to enhance your CV and acquire new skills. Therefore, try as much as possible to attend these to strengthen your profile.
5. Join social or humanitarian clubs: These clubs include people who share the same interests, so joining them helps you develop yourself on a personal level, and this will be reflected in a positive way on a professional level later.
6. Work in your family’s business if you have one: your work in the family business helps you feel that you are productive, and of course helps you in any work you get in the future.

After all, it is not a good idea to spend all your time watching Netflix, YouTube, Tik Tok, and video games. Although unemployment can be stressful and frustrating for you, you should always remember that you will not be in this situation forever.