Unemployment IA by Erica Dacas

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Sociology IA
Name: Erica Dacas
School: Goodwood Secondary School
Candidate #:
Centre#:
Territory: Trinidad and Tobago
Teacher: Ms. Walker
Year: 2016- 2017

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Table of Contents
Title Page no.
Acknowledgements 3
Problem Statement 4
Aim & Objectives 5
Operational Definitions 6
Background Information 7
Value of Research 8
Literature Review 9-10
Data Collection 11
Sociological Perspective 12
Selection of Sample 13
Presentation of Data 14-18
Analysis of Data 19-20
Discussion of Findings 21-22
Conclusion 23
Bibliography 24
Appendices 25-30

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Acknowledgements
First and foremost I would like to thank God for the strength in doing this assignment. I
would also like to extend my gratitude towards my teacher, tutors, family and friends in guiding
me to the successful completion of the assessment. Last but not least, to my parent who gave me
the necessary equipment in making this process successful.

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Introduction
Background to the Problem
A youth group consists of young persons coming together to form a part or a unit
of an organized social, political or religious institution. Youth groups play a major role
in today’s society as they facilitate the all-round development of young persons in the
arts, sports, academics and many other fields.
Pembroke is a small community in the eastern region of Tobago. It was
discovered by Earl Brooks and has a very rich and diverse culture. It is the home of the
famous “Salaka Feast” and also hosts a heritage site and two waterfalls. The Anglican
Youth Group and the Pembroke Heritage Group are currently the two active youth groups
in the community. As a part of these youth groups, young persons are exposed to a
variety of visual and performing arts, skills and value training and the ability to travel and
interact with other young persons from the country and the region.
One negative element that is noted in the community of Pembroke, however, is
the rise in unemployment among young people. During the weekdays many young
persons can be seen ‘liming’ at the side of the road as they are unemployed. The term
Unemployment may be defined as a phenomenon that occurs when an individual who is
actively in search for a job is unable to gain access to one. It has been a major issue in
the Caribbean over the years. Frictional, Cyclical and Structural are the three (3) main
categories of Unemployment.

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Frictional Unemployment is a natural form of unemployment experienced when
workers are between jobs. Conversely, structural Unemployment is caused by the
changes in industry; and Cyclical Unemployment is caused by the changes in the
economy of one’s country.
Given the emphasis on youth development through youth groups on one hand and
the apparent rise in unemployment on the other hand, the researcher set out to examine
the link between the two to investigate: To what extent does participation in a youth
group impact the level of unemployment among youths age ranges between 15–30 years
old in the community of Pembroke?
Aim
An investigation into how the participation of youths in a youth group impacts the
unemployment rate among youths in the community of Pembroke.
Objectives
 To retrieve information on possible causes of youth unemployment within the community
of Pembroke.
 To examine the types of youth groups and the activities they present for developing
youths.
 To make recommendations that will serve to possibly curb the rate of unemployment
among youths in the Pembroke community.

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Value of Research
This research seeks to advance knowledge as to the causes of unemployment among youth
ages15-30 years and the possible influence of youth groups on preparing youth for the world of
work. This research is most viable to:
 Principals of Schools
 The Division of Community Development
 The Youth Energized Success Programme (Y.E.S)
 The Division of Education, Innovation and Energy

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Operational Definitions
 Youth Group- this is a group of young people forming a part or unit of an organized
social, political or religious institution
 Influence- the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of
someone or something or the effect itself.
 Unemployment- a phenomenon that occurs when an individual who is actively searching
for a job is unable to have access to one.
 Community- a group of organisms or populations living and interacting with one another
in a particular environment.
 Phenomenon- a fact or situation that is observed to exist or happen, especially one whose
cause or explanation is in a question.
 Generation- the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time.
 Inadequate- lacking quality or quantity required.
 Institution-a society or organization founded for a religious, educational, social or similar
purpose.
 Conceivable- cable of being imagined or grasped mentally.
 Implored- to ask someone to do or not do something in a very sincere, emotional and
determined way.
 Cohorts- a group of students working together through the same academic curriculum.

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Literature Review
Dr. Fritz Holte (2001), a theorist on unemployment, stipulated that: employment is an
important part of everyone’s life, as it rewards help with the needs of the people of the society.
A survey was done where 59% of youths said that their morals and values and their status in
society influences the type of job they would venture into; while on the other hand 41% of them
just wanted employment to help earn a living.
In an article Thomas A. Mroz and Timothy H. Savage (2005) concurred that long-term
effects of youth unemployment on later market outcomes. Involuntary unemployment may yield
suboptimal investments in human capital in the short run. A theoretical model of dynamic
investments predicts a rational “catch-up” response. Low educational attainment, financially
unstable, and juvenile delinquency in one’s childhood raises an individual’s susceptibility to
unemployment. Unemployment leads to increased instability in the unemployed and lowers their
morale. Differing attitudes caused by unemployment and related factors of attitudes are typed as
the unbroken, the broken, and the distressed attitudes of people on relief and government are
considered as factors related to differing attitudes.
Unemployment within the Caribbean is among the highest throughout the world. A study
by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has founded and it has proposed a multi-pronged
approach to cutting those numbers. There is a great number of gender differences with females
when you speak about employment within youths. Unemployment was identified including the
state of the economy; structure of the labour market; lack of relevant skills; lack of experience;
lack of knowledge of vacancies; constrained opportunities due to health status or disability,

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location (i.e. rural location or general lack of transport options) and the list goes on. This may
have a great impact on the individual, the household, the community the society and country on a
whole.
According to the Trading Economics group who wrote an article in the “Daily Express”
newspaper of Trinidad and Tobago on March 9th 2016 stated that the rate of unemployment has
increased to 3.80% in the first quarter of 2016 from 3.50% in the fourth quarter of 2015. This
rate is measured by the number of people actively in search of employment as a percentage of
the labor force. As implored by Dr.Andrew S Downess PhD a professor at the University of the
West Indies said that “unemployment is particularly high among the youth cohorts of the labor
force and especially among young females.” It is generally believed that much of this open
unemployment is due to structural factors such as nature of educational system and its influence
the needs of the labor market.
Youth group as an institution plays a major role in the reduction process to reducing the
Unemployment rate in society. A youth group help teaches skills to individuals’ who could seek
to attain skill oriented jobs in which most times are undergraduate persons. Being a part of this
institution could open up channels to job opportunities as well as the youth group could
formulating ideas (since they most likely are of the same age range) to help create solutions to
this problem.

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Data Collection
There will be both qualitative and quantitative methods being used in this research. A
survey will be done in the form of a questionnaire and a focus group. A questionnaire will be
most efficient because it covers a wider range in a shorter time frame. A focus group will be used
because the topic is linked to a youth group so a focus group with youths will be more helpful in
acquiring certain details that may not be as efficient as the questionnaire. Stratified Random
Sampling was seen as the best initiative to collect this information because there is a specific set
of individuals who will be useful in the success of this research. Within the study group, the most
common themes will be used in the presentation of data, findings and analysis.

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Sociological Perspective
Sociologists are concerned with the study of humans in society. The functionalist theory
is one in which speaks to unemployment. Each part or institution in society has a role or function
to fulfil different needs. Systems within the society are interconnected and interrelated so for
there to be a social stability within the society, each aspect of society has to play its part.
Functionalism developed from the ideas of theorists such as Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkeim
but has had its roots traced as far back as the original founding father of sociology Auguste
Comte (Sociology for Caribbean Students Nasser Mustapha). Unemployment is a major social ill
in society today Most persons are unemployed due to their lack of a good education; Within this
assignment we explored the main causes, effects and possible solutions towards this problem.

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Selection of Sample
Within this research the sample was chosen through simple random sampling because the
researcher wanted the views from different aspects of citizens within the community. This was
done to eradicate the using of bias decisions by the researcher. Out of the sample that was
chosen, 70% were males and 30% females.

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Presentation of Data
Fig1. A pie chart showing the gender of the respondents.
Fig 2. A bar graph showing the age groups of the sample group
70%
30%
Sex of Respondents
Male
Female
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
15-25 yrs old 26-30 yrs old 31-45 yrs old 46 and older
percentageofpersons
Age ranges

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Fig 3. A bar graph showing the ethnicity of the respondents
Fig4. A pie chart indicating the percentage of the sample who are involved in a
youth group.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
African Descent
East Indian
Mixed
Other
Percentage
Ethnic groups
Yes
65%
No
35%

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Fig 6. A pie chart showing the respondents views on young persons making up the
majority of employees in organizations
25%
30%5%
15%
25%
Agree Strongly Agree Not sure Disagree Strongly Disagree
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Cultural Groups
Church Groups
Police Youth Club
Community Development Group
Other
NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
TYPESOFGROUPS

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Fig7. A bar graph showing what groups the sample thought helps with employment the most.
Fig 8. A bar graph showing respondent’s view on availability of information on job vacancies.
Fig 9. A pie chart showing the respondents take on whether or not the government helps with job
opportunities
15%
45%
10%
25%
5%
Agree
Strongly Agree
Not sure
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

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Fig10. A pie chart showing the sample’s view on whether or not being unemployed leads to
making bad life choices.
10%
60%
5%
14%
11%
Agree
Strongly Agree
Not Sure
Disagree
Strongly Disagree

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Analysis of Data
Within my study it was revealed that out of the 20 questionnaires handed out, 14
of the respondents were males and the remaining were females. As seen in figures 2 and 3 most
of the respondents were between the ages of 15-25 years old, thus meaning most of the
information gathered was from adolescents or young adults mainly of the African descent. A
majority of the sample which is 65% stated that they were involved in a youth group while the
outstanding 35% were not. There are different forms of youth groups present within the
community in which each plays many different roles or functions when it comes on to youths
empowerment or upliftment. These channels are mostly used for employment.
Similarly, out of the 20 respondents eleven (11) were employed. This went on
for the sample to be asserting that six (6) of them believed cultural groups helps with
employment the most, two (2) accounting for church groups, ten (10) for the Police Youth Club,
one (1) for the Community Development Group and the same for Other as implored in fig. 7
above. It has been shown that majority of the respondents tend to gravitate more towards the
Police Youth Club due to the services offered there in regards of the other groups. It has been
interpreted that because the Police Youth Club is the most active club within the community it
would have the most channels towards youth getting access to job opportunities.
Forty five percent (45%) of my sample agreed that the government does help
with the creation of job opportunities for youths. The sample then went on to implore that 25 %
agreed, 30% strongly agreed, 5% was not sure, 15% disagreed and 25% strongly disagreed to the
statement that most of a firm’s employees was made up of youths. Most vacant jobs require

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some type of graduate qualifications but most of the youths within this community are skills
oriented thus causing the unemployment rate within the community to be so high. It could be
concluded that the means by which my sample gained information on job opportunities was 13
of which was through hearing from a friend, 2 from the newspaper, 1 from signs at the
workplace, 4 through social media and 4 for other as seen in fig 8 above. This could be viewed
as a positive thing because of the interactions that would have been taken place for this
information to be shared. Thus showing that the youth groups are actually trying to get youths
employed.
Within my final analysis, a major proportion of my respondents which is 60%
strongly agreed to the fact that being unemployed helps to lead to bad life choices. Being
unemployed, the youths would start to indulge themselves in violent activities such as gangs and
killing which would raise the crime rate of the community. Young adults would have to meet
their basic needs and which they would begin to steal and beg. Which would be bad life choices.

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Discussion of Findings
It was seen where most of the youths within the community were actively
engaged in a youth group and is also employed. Thus meaning it is suggested that members of
the youth groups should encourage other youths within the community to engage themselves as it
helps with channels for job opportunities. My findings are in agreement with my literature
review in which stated that “a youth group helps to teach skills to individuals’ who could seek to
attain skill oriented jobs in which most times are undergraduate persons.” A major problem
nowadays is qualification for under graduate persons in which the youth group set up different
infrastructures to teach its’ members a trade or skill that may be of use in the future.
A major proportion of the sample stated that they were members of the Police
Youth Club group. This was seen as a major preference because the persons within this club are
mostly consisted of youths holding certain positions; so this way youths within the community
feel more accepted because they are around people of the same age group in which would have a
better understanding on how to treat them moreover than the other groups. Also another
advantage is that this particular type of youth group has a lot of activities in which youths love
such as tournaments, bingos and quizzes etc. It is recommended that the other groups within the
community put more effort in trying to engage the youths more and have more aspects of their
club in which the youths would enjoy.
Forty five percent (45%) of the respondents agreed that the government tries to
help with the creation of job opportunities for youths. This is in agreement with the researcher’s

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literature review in which it stated that “employment is an important part of everyone’s life, as it
rewards help with the needs of the people of the society; also unemployment was identified
including the state of the economy; structure of the labour market; lack of relevant skills; lack of
experience; lack of knowledge of vacancies; constrained opportunities due to health status or
disability, location etc.”
In pointing out that, the government seeks to try to endorse entrepreneurship
within the country in which would build the state of economy and also will lead to job
opportunities for its youths. In relation to the sociological perspective used above which the
functionalism theory deals with the proper functioning of each aspect of the agents in society. It
could be seen that because there are so many undergraduate persons within the community the
school in itself is not functioning as its’ supposed to which causes a strain on other agents such
as the government and the family to be trying to maintain some form of social equilibrium in the
society.
Throughout this study, my aim, which was an investigation into how the participation of
youths in a youth group organization impacts the unemployment rate among the youths in the
community of Pembroke was successfully achieved. The youth group in which only operates
once per week limits individuals in which partake, to having a longer period to ascertain
themselves with the skills being offered. This also leaves too much free time which is used
for idling and liming that could have been spent doing something constructive. So it could be
recommended that the active youth groups within the community should strive to maximize
on the days that they have the necessary offerings to the youths within the community so that
the youths are more occupied doing something of good meaning. It could be conclude that
the youth groups within the community of Pembroke are in fact helping to reduce the

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unemployment rate within the community. Functionalism is concerned with explaining the
origin and maintenance of order and stability in society requires a certain degree of social
solidarity, value consensus and harmony and integration between its parts. All the aims and
objectives of the study were successfully achieved and it gave the researcher a better
understanding of the topic that was researched.

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Bibliography
 Caribbean 360. (2015, may 22). Retrieved from Caribbean youth unemployment among
the highest in the world: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/caribbean-youth-
unemployment-among-highest-in-the-world
 Eisenberg, P., & Lazarsfeld, P. F. (1998). The psychological effects of unemployment.
PsycARTICLES, 358-390.
 george norwood. (2016, january 8). D E E P E R M I N D. Retrieved from
deepermind.com: http://www.deepermind.com/20maslow.htm
 Mustapha, N. (2009). Sociology for Caribbean Students. Ian Randle Publishers.
 Unemployment from a functionalist and perspective Essay Sample. (2017). Retrieved
from BlaBla Writing : blablawriting.com/unemployment-from-a-functionalist-and-
conflict-perspective-essay
 writing center. (2010-2014). Retrieved from the university of north carolina at chapel hill
: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/literature-reviews/

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Appendices
Note to respondent:
My name is Erica Dacas currently a sixth form student at the Goodwood Secondary
School. I am part of the Sociology group who will be conducting a research on how the
participation of a youth group helps with the unemployment rate among youths in the
community of Pembroke. .In completing this questionnaire I would need your honest
opinion. There is no need for you to state your name as this information will be kept
confidential. Thank you for your time and cooperation in assisting me to successfully
complete my study.

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]
Mnb Questionnaire
Instruction: Please place a tick in the box provided to best suite your response; where
lines are provided please state your opinion where necessary. Where means may apply,
more than one responses can be ticked.
What is your sex?
☐ Male
☐ Female
To what ethnic group do you belong?
☐ African descent
☐ East Indian descent
☐ Mixed descent
☐ Other (Please specify) ________________________.

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1. Are you a participant of a youth group?
☐ Yes
☐ No
2. Are you employed?
☐ Yes
☐ No
3. Do you think that finding a job is always easy?
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree
☐ Strongly disagree
4. When unemployed, how do you think people survive?
☐ Begging
☐ Stealing
☐ Family
☐ Government
Other_____________________________________________________________

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5. Do you think most of a job’s employees are made up of youths?
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree
6. What do you think is a major factor that causes unemployment among youths in
your community?
☐ Lack of Education
☐ Lack of job opportunities
☐ Exploitation of workers
Other ____________________________________________________________
7. Which youth group do you think youths gravitate towards the most?
☐ Cultural groups
☐ Church groups
☐ Police Youth club groups
☐ Community development groups
Other_____________________________________________________________
8. Which youth group do you think helps with employment the most?
☐ Cultural groups
☐ Church groups

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☐ Police Youth club groups
☐ Community development groups
Other_____________________________________________________________
9. How do youths get access to job opportunities?
☐ Hearing from a friend
☐ Newspaper
☐ Signs at the workplace
☐ Social Media
Other_____________________________________________________________
10. Does the government provide job opportunities for youths?
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree
11. Do you think the level of unemployment rate has increased over the past few
years?
☒ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree

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12. What could be done by the government to reduce unemployment?
☐ Create more institutions for school dropouts
☐ Create more skilled oriented jobs
☐ Help promote entrepreneurship
Other ____________________________________________________________
13. What are some of the activities present in a youth group for developing youths?
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
14. Does a youth group helps with certain traits needed to attain a job?
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree
15. Being unemployed as a youth helps to lead to bad life choices?
☐ Agree
☐ Strongly agree
☐ Not sure
☐ Disagree

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