Meaning of Unemployment

Unemployment can be defined as the situation where those who are willing and able to work could not get a befitting work to do. It is the situation where person of a working age, able bodied and willing to work is unable to find paid employment.

Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy.

Unemployment rate: This is the number of unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labor force. Unemployment rate is the percentages of total workforce who is unemployed and are looking for a paid job.

Types of unemployment

1. Mass unemployment: Mass unemployment is the type of unemployment which affects many occupation and industries at the same time. Mass unemployment is also known as cyclical or deficient unemployment. It occurs as a result of general fall in the quantity of goods demanded.
2. Structural Unemployment: is a form of unemployment where, at a given wage, the quantity of labor supplied exceeds the quantity of labor demanded, because there is a fundamental mismatch between the number of people who want to work and the number of jobs that are available. The unemployed workers may lack the skills needed for the jobs, or they may not live in the part of the country or world where the jobs are available. Structural unemployment is one of the five major categories of unemployment distinguished by economists. Structural unemployment is generally considered to be one of the “permanent” types of unemployment, where improvement if possible, will only occur in the long run
3. Voluntary Unemployment: This is a situation where Unemployed people decided not take a job probably because the pay is not attractive or because they are getting benefit from the government or any other legal source.
4. Residual unemployment: It is the kind of unemployment that arises as a result of physical and mental disabilities of the person that is to be employed.
5. Casual unemployment: This kind of unemployment is common with the unskilled kind of labors; it is the kind unemployment which involves job that is not permanent.
6. Frictional unemployment: this type of unemployment can also be called technological unemployment, it occurs as a result of advancement in technology, where machines are replaced with workers in the process of production.
7. Seasonal Unemployment: This occurs in industries whose production is subject to seasonal variations i.e. the season or event at a time determine their level of production so when it is not time for production they become unemployed.

Causes of Unemployment

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JSS3 Social Studies Third Term: Employment