UNEMPLOYMENT and underemployment are still the major problems obsessing the general public.
This can be easily confirmed when one glances at the attendance rates of the recent job fairs organised by the Labour Department. Thousands of job-seekers were eager to fill themselves into a limited number of vacant posts.
Some economists say the continued rise in the unemployment rate is due to the 'natural' restructuring of the economy and should not be regarded as unfair.
However, we must keep in mind that any economic institution is a human creation and so should be subjected to ethical evaluation. It is still immoral if the market systematically discriminates against people according to some morally irrelevant criteria and distributes the social rights to employment unjustly.
The extent of unemployment could be considerably ameliorated if some measures were implemented to stop age discrimination.
One in middle-age who is seeking a job is easily frustrated by the various age bars in job advertisements. Whether a person can be employed now depends as much on his or her chronological age as education level and working experience. Suppose you could do a competent job . . . imagine the sense of anger you would feel if you receive the message 'You are too old!' The problem being faced by women is especially complicated, since employers often prefer their female employees to have an 'attractive' youthful appearance. Ageism is compounded by sexism.
