Unemployment In Rome

         One factor that contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire was the mass amount of unemployment in Rome. In the later years of the Roman Empire, farming was done on large pieces of land called latifundia which were owned by men who had lots of wealth and used slave labor. Since the owners of these estates had to pay their labor men and women, they couldn’t compete with the lower prices of others that farmed by themselves. Since the owners of the latifundias couldn’t compete with the lower prices of others, they eventually lost or sold their farms. Due to the massive amount of farmers losing their estates, the cities of Rome filled up with unemployed citizens. Eventually at one time, the Roman emperor was importing grain to feed more than 100,000 citizens in Rome alone. The unemployed citizens in Rome became a burden to Rome and had nothing to do with their time other than commit crime which raised Rome’s seemingly never ending crime rate.

By Romeo Zendejas

                                Unemployed citizens in Rome wander the streets.