80,000 (more) lose their jobs as unemployment continues to rise. Not a rosey environment for PTSD Healing.
As a follow up to my previous post on how unemployment can magnify some of the effects of PTSD:
We have the most recent report on unemployment indicating an additional 80,000 Americans who have lost their jobs.
This moves the current unemployment rate from 4.8% to 5.1%. Thankfully this is not a Depression Era unemployment rate. However, the real rate is higher than that reported because the government does not count those workers who have dropped out of the labor market due to despair.
Please recall that the unemployment rate for recent Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is 18 percent.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke predicts additional rises in the unemployment rate will occur over the next several months.
Unemployment causes the sense of personal worthlessness, it damages one’s self value. This is also a feature of PTSD that leads people to despair and self-destruction.
As I noted in the previous post, the creation of jobs is a moral issue. We save lives, we save families, and we provide positive treatment of PTSD by allowing our veterans to have meaningful work.
Semper Pax, Dr. Z
I wonder what the stats would be if they included the under-employed who are unable to transfer the skills to civillian life so they re-enlist.
Comment by Gordy — April 29, 2008 @ 7:13 pm
Hi Gordy!
If they included the under-employed it would be a lot higher. I learned yesterday afternnoon that there are at least 6 different guages of unemployment used by the government. They range from U-1 (lowest rate) to U-6 (the highest rate). Accpording to the interview, the goverment uses U-3. U-3 gives us something in the 4% range. U-6, which includes people who are underemployed, plays out at 10-12%.
You’re right, the re-enlistment rates are probably higher due to skill untransferability. Many enlist in high school as they see college so dreadfully expensive or a job future flipping burgers as their future.
The only civlian” job I know about that desires Soldiers and Marines based on skills are the mercenary groups such as Blackwater. Some choose to get into law enforcement but don’t always qualify or they leave because the Rules of Engagement are rather strict compared to Iraq.
Semper Pax, John
Comment by Dr. Z — April 29, 2008 @ 11:46 pm