For most individuals, basic life requirements are met through employment. It can satisfy creative urges, promote self-esteem, and provide an avenue for achievement and self-realization.

To assess the level of depression, anxiety and self-esteem in a population of unemployed persons.

It was a cross-sectional study involving unemployed people we met in the office of employment of Sfax in Tunisia. The level of anxiety and depression was assessed by the Beck depression and anxiety inventories. The self-esteem Rosenberg scale allowed us to evaluate the level of self-esteem of our population.

The average age of oursubjects was 33 years six months. The average duration of unemployment of our population was 4 years 7 months and 38.2% of them had never worked before. The anxiety level was moderate in 38.2%, while moderate to severe depression was found in 47%. Self-esteem was low to very low in 47.1%. A low level of depression was positively correlated with a low socioeconomic level (P = 0.000), a low level of anxiety (P = 0.000) and a high self-esteem level (P = 0.000).

People with strong support systems and greater self-esteem seemed to experience less unemployment stress. Identifying those who are at high risk for psychological and physical problems and finding ways of preventing them from suffering the adverse effect of unemployment are important areas for further study.

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.