Physical, mental health issues named top cause of US unemployment

A new survey of United States workers found that 30 percent of unemployed respondents cited physical health as the cause of their joblessness, while 15 percent cited mental health issues. One of the more baffling questions surrounding the labour market recovery in the United States is the mismatch between a near-record number of job openings and the paucity of workers willing to fill them.A new survey published on Monday by global consultancy McKinsey and Company is shedding light on one of the major drivers keeping workers on the sidelines: health issues.According to McKinsey’s latest American Opportunity Survey, nearly half of jobless workers canvassed said health issues were the main cause of their unemployment, with 30 percent saying they had to leave work because of physical health issues, and 15 percent citing mental health issues. Both metrics marked an increase over March, when the first survey was conducted. The third most commonly cited reason was the need to take care of children or elderly relatives, which 12 percent of respondents said best described the cause of their unemployment. But the headline metric concealed big differences, said McKinsey. Jobless workers with children at home were 2.4 times more likely to cite caregiving as the reason for their unemployment, while Asian Americans were three times more likely than people of other races or ethnicities to cite taking care of family for keeping them out of the jobs market.“As we found in the inaugural American Opportunity Survey, in March, this new survey reminds us of the substantial—and stubbornly persistent—barriers preventing many Americans from having a more equitable, prosperous future,” said McKinsey. ”Source: aljazeera.com