When unemployment is high, you know there are problems with the economy. Interestingly enough, it's actually completely normal and healthy for economies to have a small amount of unemployment at all times. That being said, unemployment is probably made into one of the more important economic issues because its the one aspect of economics most closely tied to the individual's well-being
Unemployment means no income. No income means no saving. No saving means no spending. No spending means no economy - hence why it's important
Unemployment also shows that the economy is doing bad, and if the economy is doing bad, not only are the unemployed not getting jobs, but 'other' people are conservative with their money and it does not make the economy active