This document is a social studies research project submitted by Raheme Matthie to investigate unemployment in the George Mason Drive community. It includes an introduction outlining the topic, a statement of the problem, and reasons for selecting the topic. It then describes the methodology, which involved distributing questionnaires. The findings from analyzing the collected data show that most unemployed persons are males between 19-25 years old. It was found that the main causes of unemployment were a lack of education and skills training. The recommendations call for more educational and job opportunities to address unemployment in the community.

1. NAME OF CANDIDATE:Raheme Matthie
CANDIDATE #100086
SCHOOL:Oberlin High
CENTRE #100086
SUBJECT: Social Studies
PROFICEINCY:General
TERRITORY:Jamaica
TEACHER:Miss C. Hussey
YEAR-SUBMITTED:March,2013

2. TABLE OF CONTENT
Titles Pages
Acknowledgement 1
Introduction 2
Statement of Problem 3
Reason for Selecting Topic 4
Method of Investigation 5
Instrument Used To Collect Data 6
Procedure used to collect data 7
Presentation and explanation of data 8-14
Interpretation of data 15
Findings 16
Recommendations 17
Appendix 18
Bibliography 19

3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The successful completion of this study would not have been possible without the assistance and
cooperation of my family members and friends, as a result I’d like to convey my heartfelt
appreciation to my Mother, Geraldine Johnson whom has given me reinsurance in terms of
information and also motivation in order for me to complete this assignment. I would like to praise
God for good health and strength that was necessary in order for me to complete this study. Thanks
goes out to my one and only aunt, Lourie-Ann Dyce my Grandaunt Miss. Terrelonge and close
friends of my mom, these persons were very instrumental in getting me the necessary information
and support I needed to successfully accomplish what was required of this assignment.

4. INTRODUCTION
The George Mason Drive community is a small community, which is located in the District of
Lawrence Tavern, St. Andrew. It entails restaurants, a pharmacy, police station, post office,
wholesalers & retailers, bars hardware stores etc. It is estimated to be 15 miles from the nation’s
capital, Kingston. I have been a resident of George Mason Drive for the past 16 years, and during
this time I have monitored an escalation in the unemployment rate within this community.
Unemployment is the condition of having no job or receiving no salary or payment in a specified
field of work. As a result, I have decided to organize an assessment to investigate the level of
unemployment of persons within my community.

5. STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Topic: Unemployment
What are the causes and effects of unemployment in George Mason Drive, Lawrence Tavern?

6. REASON FOR SELECTING TOPIC
The reason for selecting this topic is because it is the foremost problem in my community, thus it
is important that an investigation be carried out to discover the causes, effects and possible
solutions to this problem. Unemployment in my community seems to be the foundation of a
variety of social problems. The crisis created when parents lose their jobs has had an effect in
providing the basic need of food, clothing, shelter and education for their families, in addition,
young people leaving high school and universities have been finding it more difficult to find
jobs. The activity of idle hands has caused an upsurge in loitering, theft, and appears to be the
leading cause of gang formation, resulting in negative behaviour and influences. There is also the
sense of hopelessness, inactiveness and health related problems such as depression, when
persons who should be employed are not working. However, while government has the power of
promoting economic stability and decreasing unemployment, the education system must also
take responsibility for providing skills and training for young people and the unemployed.
Training and retraining for available jobs needs to be accessible to all who should be working, in
order to decrease unemployment. I also urge that skills learnt should be used to create self-
employment in order to avoid the downfalls of unemployment.

7. METHOD OF INVESTIGATION
To investigate the problem, I have selected to assemble printed questionnaires, in order to pull
together information for the survey.
The questionnaire as a tool for collecting data has a number of advantages:
 It can be done at the accessibility of the persons required to have it completed.
 It is classified as persons are not obliged to write their names (ID)
 It requires little time to be completed.

8. INSTRUMENT USED TO COLLECT DATA
Dear citizens,
I have prepared a survey which is being carried out in this community, to find out
the level of unemployment within this area. This survey is being conducted as an assignment for
my Social Studies SBA that I’m currently undertaking. I have decided to use a questionnaire,
which requires no personal information from citizen. You are advised to answer the following
questions honestly, since you are not required to write any names anywhere, no one will ever
know what your answers are. There are no wrong or right answers. All of the questions can be
answered by a simple tick in the box. Example. Sex. Male Female
Yours Truly,
Raheme Matthie

9. QUESTIONAIRE
INSTRUCTION: Please place a simple tick in the box (i.e.) according to your answer
1. Sex?
Male Female
2. How long have you been living in Lawrence Tavern, George Mason Drive?
1 – 5 years 5 – 10 years
10 years & over
3. Which age group are you in? From:
16 – 18 years 19 – 25 years
26 – 30 years 31 – 40 years
41 years & over
4. Are you currently seeking a job?
Yes No
5. Which institution did you last attend?
Tertiary Elementary Primary
High School Skills Training Institution
6. Did you complete school?
Yes No

10. 7. If no, why?
Responsibilities Peer pressure
Lack of resources Financial problems
Other problems
8. Do you have any CXC subjects? If so how many?
0 1-3
4-6 6 & over
9. Do you have any child/ children?
Yes No
10. If so, how do you maintain the child/ children need(s)?
Begging Family assistance
Hustling Help from government
Stealing
11. Have you ever been employed?
Yes No
12. How has unemployment affected you?
Unemployment has affected me by:
Not meeting basic needs Having a decline in the standard of living
Not providing for my family

11. 13. What do you think are the causes of unemployment in the community?
Lack of parental control Absence of educational opportunities
15. What can be done by the government to reduce unemployment in my community?
Provide more skill training Place extra emphasis on agriculture
Offer small business loans

12. PROCEDURE USED TO COLLECT DATA
The community of George Mason Drive has approximately 50 households. It was calculated that
100% was necessary in order to acquire a precise conclusion on the ratio of employed to
unemployed persons in the entire community (100% of 50 = 50).
A total of 50 questionnaires were organized and distributed among members of the community. I
therefore decided to choose the households by the process of random selection. 50 slips were
prepared each was distributed among all households. These persons were given one week to
complete the questionnaires that were issued. A total of 50 questionnaires were collected at the
end of the one week period.

13. PRESENTATION AND EXPLANATION OF DATA
A total of 50 questionnaires were distributed to the citizens, in which all were returned.
Of these respondents, 62% were males and 38% were females.
Figure1. It can be observed that 62% of the respondents in the George Mason Drive community
are unemployed, while the other 38% are employed.
38%
62%
PIE CHART SHOWING # OF PERSONS THAT ARE
EMPLOYED/UNEMPLOYED
Employed Unemployed

14. BAR GRAPH SHOWING HOW PERSONS THAT ARE UNEMPLOYED
MAINTAIN THEIR CHILD/ CHILDREN NEEDS
Figure2. In this representation it can be seen that 40% sustained the needs of their child/ children
by the aid of family members. 30% responded that they had to hustle to maintain their child/
children needs. 20% turned to begging. No respondent selected that the government assisted
them. Stealing, no one responded that they had to steal to maintain their child/ children needs.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% 45%
Family assistance
Begging
Hustling
Stealing
Help from government

15. Figure3. In this figure the numbers of persons currently seeking a job shown and those who
aren’t are shown out of 100%, whereas 80% said they are seeking a job, while the remaining
20% are not seeking a job.
% Of persons
seeking a Job
80%
% Of persons
whom are not
seeking a job
20%
PIE CHART SHOWING % OF PERSONS WHO ARE
SEEKING A JOB AND THOSE WHO AREN'T

16. Figure4. In this pie chart is can be seen that 70% which included most males are currently
unemployed, while 30% are employed.
Employed
30%
Unemployed
70%
PIE CHART SHOWING % OF MALES WHO ARE
EMPLOYED AND THOSE WHO ARE UNEMPLOYED

17. Figure5. This shows the relationship between employed and unemployed females.
80% of females are employed, while 20% are left unemployed
Employed
80%
Unemployed
20%
PIE CHART SHOWING % OF FEMALES WHO ARE
EMPLOYED AND THOSE WHO ARE
UNEMPLOYED

18. Figure6. It can be seen that 46% are from ages 19-25, 30% from ages 26-40, 14% from ages 16-
18 and 10% from 41 years and over.
16 - 18
yrs
19 - 25
yrs
26 - 40
yrs
41 yrs &
over
Age group of persons (in %) 14% 46% 30% 10%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
CHART SHOWING AGE GROUP OF PERSONS WHO HAVE
RESPONDED(IN PERCENTAGE)

19. TABLE SHOWING REASONS WHY PEOPLE DID NOT COMPLETE
SCHOOL
Reasons why persons did not
complete school
Percentage amount
Peer pressure 40%
Lack of resources 16%
Responsibilities 4%
Other problems 14%
Financial problems 26%
Figure7. 40% of respondents answered peer pressure. 26% responded financial problems.
Responsibilities accumulated 4% of the respondents. 16% of respondents said that lack of
resources was their answers for not completing school. Other problems accumulated 14% of the
respondents.

20. INTERPRETATION OF DATA
In doing my survey of George Mason Drive, out of 50 persons, 31 are males while the other 19
are females. The information that was gathered stated that 75% of respondents did not complete
school; this was because of a number of factors. These factors include: peer pressure, financial
problems, responsibilities, lack of resources, and other problems. Peer pressure is one of the
major factors why persons did not complete school out of 50 persons, 20 persons succumbed to
peer pressure, which involved: smoking, drinking excessively, fighting, caring illegal weapons
etc. 13 persons had difficulty with financial problems, these include: difficulty with lunch money
and paying school fee.2 persons had different responsibilities to take care of such as: disabled
relatives, pregnancy and a child or children. 8 persons were lack in resources such as
stationeries, a pair of shoe, uniforms, and a school bag. Then lastly the remaining 7 persons had
other problems.
Age group of persons who are involved in the questionnaire, out of 100% of the respondents, the
highest amount of respondents came from the ages 19-25 yrs which accounted for 46% (23
persons) . The second highest count came from the ages 26-30 yrs which had 30% (15 persons)
responding, between the ages 16-18 years 14% (7 persons) responded, and 10% (5 persons) were
between the ages 41yrs & over. It can be concluded that the ages between 19-25 yrs received and
answered the questionnaire mostly and the ages between 41 yrs & over received and answered
the questionnaire least.
Figure 5 shows the relationship between employed and unemployed females, out of 100%. 80%
(40 persons) showed that most females are employed, and 20% (10 persons) shows that the least
number of females are unemployed. In this survey it can be concluded that there are more
employed females, than there are employed females.
The relationship shown between employed and unemployed males, out of 100%, 70% (35
persons) the majority portrays unemployed males, the remaining 30% (15 persons) shows
employed males. It is indicated that most males are either having difficulty finding a job or are
not looking for a job, thus they are unemployed, and lesser amounts of males currently have a
job.

21. The persons seeking a job, out of 100% in this diagram it can be shown that more persons are
seeking a job than those who aren’t. The number of persons not seeking shows 38% or (19
persons) could include: persons over the legal working age (for males 70 and females 62),
persons who are disabled. 62% or (31 persons) are currently seeking a job reason why could
include poverty. The economic level or “the price for living” is getting higher and higher each
year; these are factors that contribute to people being unemployed and seeking jobs. Many
persons want to live a better life for themselves and their family so they often times head out into
the job market looking to find a job.
Ways in which unemployed persons maintain the needs and wants of their child/children. Out of
100% of the respondents, 40% which accounted for (20 persons) receive help from family
members which included clothes, books, money, and other essentials. 20% which accounted for
(10 persons) say they receive help from hustling. These acts include: selling goods and or
services. 30% (15 persons) of the respondents beg to provide for their child needs. 10% or (5
persons) received help from the government. None of the respondents selected that stealing was
a means of providing for their child/children needs. Due to these results, it can be concluded that
most persons in the area are supported by family members.
In figure 1 it can be observed that there is a greater number of unemployed persons living in the
community of George Mason Drive, and lesser are employed. 62% (31 persons) accounted for
unemployed persons whilst, 38% or (19 persons) accounted for employed persons.

22. FINDINGS
During my research I have acquired a compilation of information with which regards to
unemployment in George Mason Drive. These are as follows:
 58% or (29) of the respondents from the questionnaire are males.
 Most unemployed persons maintain their child/children needs, primarily with the aid of
family members.
 40% of persons who have responded are from the ages 19-25. This means that the mean
age of unemployed persons are from these age groups.

23. RECOMMENDATIONS
The importance of persons being employed plays a major part in our society today; it simply
means that less persons would be unemployed, hence resulting in a significant drop in the
unemployment rate within the community and the country at large. Community members should
see to it that both parents and children are educated, so as to have a better chance of being
employed in the future.
Unemployment is one of the leading causes of crime and violence, this is because people’s time
is not being occupied by some sort of activity (job), and therefore I recommend more jobs for
persons who are illiterate, skilled and unskilled and those who haven’t completed school.
I strongly recommend the local government and the necessary authorities be notified
about the lack of jobs within our economy and also to inform the public about the causes and
effects of unemployment. This can be achieved by broadcasting the information via the media
which includes:
1. The television
2. Radio
3. Newspaper
Also the government can go about this by dispatching social workers to different communities,
advising them about unemployment.
In the process of making these recommendations the strategies that I would implement, to
undertake these problems are as follows:
 The intervention of the local government and labor organizations to develop more job
schemes based on specialized skills and advising them on the state of unemployment
within our community, and asking them to provide more jobs for all groups of people.
 Institute measures so that all children attend, at least primary school.
 Invite guess speakers to attend a forum, to advise the community about the causes and
effects of unemployment.

24. APPENDIX

25. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Grayson,M. C. (2010). Social StudiesEssemtials New Edition. Kingston,Jamaica:CarlongPublishers.
Umraw, R. R. (2001). Modulesin Social StudiesThird Edition. Trinidad:CaribbeanEducationalPublishers.