Which is worse, unemployment or unfilled jobs (underemployment)

simcity-2013

As many may have noticed getting the perfect balance of jobs and people to fill those jobs is probably impossible. So I am asking what will cause the least amount of negative affects to my city; unemployment or unfilled jobs?

Best Answer

It depends on what negative effect is worse in your opinion:

Unemployment will result in people moving out of their homes eventually due to not having any money, or turning to a life of crime to support themselves. They will also stop shopping at local commercial zones for the same reason (or steal from them), and will instead visit parks. Either way, the result is not good. If they stay in their homes, you start getting a crime problem in their area, which if they are located in a $$$ or $$ wealth area will cause negative happiness. If they lose their homes, they will set up camp in your parks, lowering land values and happiness.

Underemployment will result in businesses abandoning their buildings, which will usually need to be bulldozed. This causes you to lose the tax revenue, and the building will be a den for crime and/or fire hazard in the meantime.

In my opinion, unemployment is worse, as the effects of underemployment can be dodged by being diligent about bulldozing abandoned buildings. This is of course provided you can afford the financial hit of losing the tax revenue. Typically, the building will start rebuilding itself anyway, but the cycle may keep repeating or pop up at another building.