Unemployment from a Functionalist and Conflict Perspective

Conclusion
Unemployment plays are major part in our society, its affects are wide reaching. The implication that unemployment is an individual problem due to lack of skills, only seeks to increase the problem. The
idea that who we are is depicted by what we do as a job, creates further stratification of our society. Long-term unemployment has been shown to be one of the most important contributors to domestic violence and other forms of crime, as well as psychological illness and suicide (Baker 1993).
Whether we look at unemployment from a functional or conflict perspective, there is no right or wrong answer. We need to look at it from both perspectives to get a better idea of the situation, and then to look at possible ways of dealing with the issue. There will always be unemployment due to changes in the environment, whether they are biological or technological. For this reason further insights into how society deals with unemployment is
necessary. Stratification is a principal aspect of the evolution of a society's social identity, when this is compounded with unemployment, alienation and dysfunction becomes a consequence.
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