Sunday, February 17, 2013

 Unemployment/Employment

  • Unemployment: failure to use available resources (labor)
  • Employed: includes those that are self employed
           Full Employment
          -  Natural rate of unemployment (NRU)
          - Structural + frictional unemployment
          - Does not mean 0 unemployment
  • Unemployed: New entrants, laid off, lost last job, quit last job
          Types of Unemployment
          - Frictional 
               *Transitional/temporary/short term/searching or between jobs
              *Signals new jobs are available and reflects freedom of chance
              *Ex. People who have quit or have been fired, students out of college, people looking for a better job 
          - Cyclical 
              *Economic down turn in business cycle because of a deficient demand for goods/services (caused by a recession)
              *If you loose a job due to a recession, you will get that job or another job again (jobs come back) 
          - Structural
              *Deals with technology
              *Reasons why it happens: 
                 ~automation: job may become obsolete due to changes in taste
                 ~creative destruction: as jobs are created, others are lost
                 ~change in skills    
          - Seasonal 
              *Depending on season or weather
              *Ex. Santa, lifeguard, Easter bunny, construction workers
  • Not in labor force: Disabled, armed forces, stay at home mother/father, retirees, those in mental institutions or prison, students
Unemployment Rate = ((# of unemployed)/(Total labor force)) x 100  
   *Total labor force = (unemployed+employed) 
   * Rate>6% = bad
   *Rate<6% = good
   *Rate<4% = very good  


Side Notes
  • Okun's Law
          - Describes how unemployment relates to a nations GDP
          - States that for every 1% unemployment above the NRU, a negative GDP gap will occur
  • Unemployment burdens of unemployment
          - Rates are lower for white collar workers
          - Teens have the higher rates
          - Blacks have higher rates than white
          - Rates for males and females are comparable  

 

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