Unemployment

Question 1

the unemployed are the people who:

Answer 1

1. Are not in paid employment or self-employment
2. Are available for work
3. Are actively seeking work

Question 2

what is the working-age for Ireland?

Answer 2

16

Question 3

what is meant by the working-age population?

Answer 3

those aged 16 or older who are
not in the military or institutionalized

Question 4

employed:

Answer 4

working-age people who are working

Question 5

unemployed:

Answer 5

working-age people without jobs who are trying to get jobs

Question 6

what is the labor force?

Answer 6

the part of the working-age population that is
available to produce goods and services

Question 7

what is the labour force participation rate?

Answer 7

the percentage of the working-age population
that is either employed or unemployed

Question 8

formula to calculate the participation rate:

Answer 8

labour force divided by pop of working age

Question 9

formula to calculate the unemployment rate:

Answer 9

unemployed divided by labour force

Question 10

formula to calculate the employment rate:

Answer 10

employed divided by pop of working age

Question 11

how long does a person have to be unemployed to be classes as long-term unemployed?

Answer 11

6 consecutive months or longer

Question 12

what is meant by the term ‘marginally attached’?

Answer 12

someone who wants a job and has looked for a
job within the past year, but who isn’t counted as unemployed because they aren’t currently searching for work.

Question 13

what is meant by the term ‘underemployed’?

Answer 13

someone who has some work, but wants more hours, or whose job isn’t adequately using their skills

Question 14

what is frictional unemployment?

Answer 14

unemployment due to the time it takes for employers to search for workers, and for workers to search for jobs.

Question 15

what is structural unemployment?

Answer 15

unemployment that occurs because wages don’t fall to bring labor demand and supply into equilibrium.

Question 16

what is cyclical unemployment?

Answer 16

unemployment that is due to a temporary downturn in the economy

Question 17

what is the reservation wage?

Answer 17

the lowest wage rate at which a worker would be willing to accept a particular type of job

Question 18

what are the sources of frictional unemployment?

Answer 18

1. job search resources
2. skills mismatch
3. unemployment insurance and other income support

Question 19

what are the sources of structural unemployment?

Answer 19

1. efficiency wages: higher wages paid to encourage greater worker productivity
2. institutional causes:
   -unions
   -job protection regulations
   -minimum wage laws

Question 20

what is an efficiency wage?

Answer 20

a higher wage paid to encourage greater work productivity

Question 21

what is meant by the term ‘hysteresis’?

Answer 21

when a period of high unemployment leads to higher equilibrium unemployment rate