Unemployment Denfintions Flashcards
1
Q
Define Unemployment Level (2)
A
- The number of people over the age of 16
- That are without work
- Available for work and seeking work
2
Q
Define Unemployment Rate (2)
A
- The proportion of the economically active who are unemployed
- The number unemployed divided by the number working plus unemployed
3
Q
Define Under-Employment (2)
A
- This includes those workers that are skilled but working in lower paying jobs
- And part-time workers that would prefer to be full-time
4
Q
Define Job Seekers Allowance (6)
A
- This is the name of the UK’s unemployment benefit
- Since 2013 it is one of six benefits that are being absorbed by the Universal Credit System
- To be elegible, claimants must be 18 or over but below the State Pension Age
- Not be in full time education
- Be available for work and be actively seeking work
- And work on average less than 16 hours per week
5
Q
Define Claimant Count Unemployment (3)
A
- The number of people who are recieving benefits principally for the reason of being unemployed
- Since 1996 this has consisted of those people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA)
- From April 2013, those people recieving Universal Credit (UC) principally for the reason of being unemployed also meet the definition of the Claimant Count
6
Q
Define ILO Unemployment (4)
A
- This is the official measure of unemployment in the UK
- It is used as a survey to ask about respondents’ personal circumstances and their activity in the labour market
- The design of the survey means that in any three-month period approximately 41,000 households (80,000 people) in the UK will be interviewed
- To be considered unemployed, respondents have actively sought work in the last 4 weeks and are available to start work in the next 2 weeks, or have found a job and are waiting to start in the next 2 weeks
7
Q
Define Structural Unemployment (3)
A
- This is associated with a long-term decline in demand in an industry leading to fewer jobs as demand for labour falls away
- Occupational and geographic immobility of labour prevents workers from finding other jobs straight away
For example; unemployment caused by the closure of the Redcar steel works
8
Q
Define Frictional unemployment (2)
A
- This is the transitional unemployment due to people moving between jobs
- For example, redundant workers may take time to find the types of they want at wage rates they are prepared to accept
- Many are unemployed for a short time whilst involved in job searching
9
Q
Define Seasonal Unemployment (4)
A
- This occurs when unemployment increases at certain times of the year
- This can be because of an increased supply of workers in the labour market at certain times of the year such as school leavers in July
- Or because of seasonal differences in demand for labour such as tourism and leisure, farming, construction and retailing
- Most data for UK unemployment is adjusted for regular, predictable seasonal changes in labour demand
10
Q
Define Cyclical Unemployment (3)
A
- This is involuntary unemployment due to a lack of aggregate demand for goods and services
- Sometimes known as the Keynesian unemployment
- When there is a recession or a slowdown in growth, we see a rising unemployment because of plant closures, business failures and an increase in worker lay-offs and redundancies
Redundancy - A situation in which someone loses their job because their employer does not need them
Worker Lay-offs - If workers are laid off, they are told by their employers to leave their job, usually because there is no more work for them to do. You can lay off an employee (ask them to stay at home or take unpaid leave) when you temporarily cannot give them paid work
11
Q
Define Real Wage Unemployment (3)
A
- This unemployment occurs when wages are above the equilibrium causing the supply of labour to be greater than the demand
- Classical economists use it to explain U
- It is caused by inflexibility in labour markets that stop real wages falling to the market clearing level
