Full employment

Question 1

what did the soviet Constitution of 1977 guarantee its citizens

Answer 1

• The Soviet Constitution of 1977 guaranteed its citizens employment
• Full employment had been feature of Soviet life since 1930s and continue to be so through Khrushchev and Brezhnev years

Question 2

was there unemployment and what were the examples

Answer 2

There was some unemployment: seasonal work i.e. farming resulted in short term unemployment in rural areas, and it was common for graduates to experience short period of unemployment after finishing university

Question 3

what was the downside of employment

Answer 3

Having employment was no guarantee of job satisfaction and many jobs were created that were under demanding, repetitive and sometimes pointless

Question 4

what made a difference

Answer 4

The increase in real wages made a difference

Question 5

what did Historian Gertrude Schroeder say about wages

Answer 5

Historian Gertrude Schroeder says real wages rose by 50% between 1967 and 1977

Question 6

what did this increase mean for the people

Answer 6

This increase meant Soviet workers had more spending power

Question 7

why did most Soviet workers accumulate savings

Answer 7

Most Soviet workers accumulated savings as there was a scarcity of goods in shops and low prices were fixed by government

Question 8

what helped stability

Answer 8

What really helps stability was limited gap between best paid and worst paid

Question 9

what was the comparison of wage differentials with the USA

Answer 9

Wage differentials were relatively low, less than half of USA in 1970: enough to offer workers chance of material gain through hard work, but not wide enough to cause anger over excessive inequality