Employment and unemployment
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| unemployment/ʌnemˈplɔɪmənt/ | The state of being without work while willing and available to work and actively seeking a job. |
| unemployment rate/ʌnemˈplɔɪmənt reɪt/ | The percentage of the labour force that is unemployed under the measure being used. |
| employment | employment |
| labour force/ˈleɪbə fɔːs/ | The people who are employed or are unemployed and actively seeking and available for work, under the definition used. |
| unemployed/ʌnemˈplɔɪd/ | Without paid work, available to work and actively seeking work under the usual labour-force definition. |
| labour force survey/ˈleɪbə fɔːs ˈsɜːveɪ/ | A household survey that measures employment, unemployment and participation in the labour market. |
| claimant count/ˈkleɪmənt kaʊnt/ | The number of people claiming specified unemployment-related benefits, used as one indicator of unemployment. |
| full employment/fʊl emˈplɔɪmənt/ | A situation in which available labour resources are employed at their sustainable potential, allowing normal frictional and structural unemployment. |
| frictional/ˈfrɪkʃənl/ | Describing unemployment that occurs while people search for jobs or move between jobs. |
| structural/ˈstrʌktʃərəl/ | Describing economic effects caused by underlying features or changes in the organisation of production and labour markets. |
| cyclical/ˈsaɪklɪkl/ | Related to recurring expansions and contractions in economic activity. |
| seasonal unemployment/ˈsiːzənl ʌnemˈplɔɪmənt/ | seasonal unemployment |
Can unemployment fall without any new jobs?
- A town reports a lower unemployment rate, but no extra people have jobs. Some jobseekers stopped searching. The headline rate alone cannot tell the whole story.
- Employment 就业 means having work. Unemployment 失业 means being without work, actively seeking a job and available to start. Classify people by what they do, rather than by labels such as “student” or “retired”.
Decide who belongs in the labour force
- The labour force 劳动力 = employed people + unemployed 失业者 people. A student with a paid part-time job is employed. A jobless student who is seeking work and available can be unemployed; one who is neither working nor seeking is outside the labour force.
- A retired person who starts seeking work and is available can also be unemployed. Someone doing paid part-time work is employed even if they want longer hours. Being without a job does not, by itself, decide the category.
Classify by work, search and availability
Decide whether each person is employed, unemployed or outside the labour force.
The unemployed are people who are:
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Survey unemployment requires no job, active search and availability. A student or retired person can meet these conditions; the label alone does not decide.
A person with no job, who is not seeking work and is not available to start, should be counted as unemployed.
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False. In this case the person is outside the labour force. Students and retirees who do seek work and are available can instead be unemployed.
A full-time student has no job, is actively seeking work and is available to start. How is this person classified?
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The student label does not exclude someone who meets the survey unemployment conditions.
Use the labour force as the denominator
- Unemployment rate 失业率 = unemployed ÷ labour force × 100%. With 24 million employed and 2 million unemployed, the labour force is 26 million and the rate is 2 ÷ 26 × 100 ≈ 7.7%. Do not divide by employment alone or by the total population.
- If 0.5 million jobseekers stop seeking and become inactive, employment stays 24 million. Unemployment becomes 1.5 million and the labour force 25.5 million, so the rate falls to about 5.9%. No new jobs were created; check both the rate and its components.
The unemployment rate is the unemployed as a percentage of the labour ______.
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Rate = unemployed ÷ labour force × 100.
A country has 720000 employed people and 80000 unemployed people seeking work and available. What is the unemployment rate (%)?
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Labour force = 720000 + 80000 = 800000. Rate = 80000 ÷ 800000 × 100 = 10%.
The labour force is 1200000 and the unemployment rate is 8%. How many people are employed?
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Unemployed = 0.08 × 1200000 = 96000. Employed = 1200000 − 96000 = 1104000.
Know what the measure counts
- A labour force survey 劳动力调查 asks a sample about work, job search and availability, then estimates the totals. It can include unemployed people who do not receive benefits. Results depend on the sample, definitions and reference period.
- The claimant count 失业救济申领人数 instead records people claiming unemployment benefits. Eligibility and claiming rules affect it, so it is not the same as a survey unemployment total. Full employment 充分就业 means people willing and able to work can find jobs at the going wage; it does not mean every resident must work, or remove every short job-search gap.
Unemployment benefit eligibility becomes stricter. The claimant count falls, but the number jobless, seeking and available is unchanged. What follows?
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Claiming depends on eligibility and take-up. Survey status depends on work, search and availability.
Distinguish the four causes
- Frictional 摩擦性 unemployment is a short gap while finding another job. Structural 结构性 unemployment happens when skills or locations do not match available jobs, for example after an industry declines or new technology replaces some tasks.
- Cyclical 周期性, or demand-deficient, unemployment follows weak total demand: fewer orders mean less output and fewer workers needed. Seasonal unemployment 季节性失业 follows changes at particular times of year, such as fewer tourism jobs after the holiday season.
Unemployment caused by a recession (too little demand) is:
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Cyclical unemployment rises when demand falls in a downturn.
A coal miner who loses his job when mines close, and whose skills no longer match new jobs, faces:
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A skills/industry mismatch is structural unemployment.
A hotel worker loses the summer job after the tourist season and is seeking winter work. Which cause best fits?
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The stated seasonal change in tourism demand explains the job loss; the worker is seeking and available.
Trace the consequences
- An unemployed worker may lose income, confidence and skills. Local firms can lose sales when that worker spends less. Long unemployment can make returning to work harder; benefits or family support may reduce the income loss.
- The economy loses possible output when willing workers are unused. Government may receive less income tax and spend more on benefits, leaving fewer funds for other uses. The size of these effects depends on the number affected, the duration and the support available.
A factory closes and 200 workers are still without jobs a year later. Explain one effect on their households and one on government finances, then give a condition that could reduce each effect.
Compare your own calculation and causal reasoning with the model. A justified judgement depends on the stated conditions and evidence.
Match a policy to the cause
- Better vacancy information can shorten frictional job search. Relevant training or help moving to where jobs exist can reduce structural mismatch, but takes time and money and depends on suitable vacancies. Seasonal workers may need work or skills usable at other times of year.
- If low demand causes cyclical unemployment, lower interest rates, lower taxes or higher government spending may raise spending, orders and jobs. They can be less effective if confidence is weak, spending goes to imports or skills do not match; rising demand can also add inflationary pressure.
A town has two groups of jobseekers: factory workers whose old skills do not match new technical vacancies, and shop workers laid off after spending fell across the economy. Explain one suitable policy for each group and one limit of each.
Compare your own calculation and causal reasoning with the model. A justified judgement depends on the stated conditions and evidence.
Interpret employment changes carefully
- A fall in one industry's jobs does not prove total employment fell: services may be expanding while manufacturing shrinks. Compare numbers, shares and the period. A smaller share can still mean more workers if total employment grows.
- A lower unemployment rate may reflect new jobs, people leaving the labour force, or both. Ask which groups are affected, where vacancies are and what skills they need before choosing a policy. A rate is evidence, not a complete explanation.
Employment in services is 600000 out of total employment of 1000000. What percentage of employed people work in services?
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600000 ÷ 1000000 × 100 = 60%. The denominator is total employment for this sector share, not the labour force.
Initially 900 people are employed and 100 unemployed, seeking and available. Later 50 of those unemployed stop seeking and become inactive, with no other changes. Calculate both unemployment rates to one decimal place. Assess the claim that the fall proves job creation.
Compare your own calculation and causal reasoning with the model. A justified judgement depends on the stated conditions and evidence.
Build an explanation from the case
- Check work, search and availability; calculate the labour force before the rate. Explain whether a change reflects jobs or a change in participation.
- Name the type of unemployment, link its cause to an effect, then choose a suitable response with a limitation. Use the case figures rather than treating every jobless person or every policy as the same.
The labour force is 500 people and 25 are unemployed and looking for work. What is the unemployment rate, as a percent?
25 divided by 500 is 0.05, which is 5 percent.
Review the same case: labour force 500, including 25 unemployed people who are seeking and available. What is the unemployment rate?
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25 is 5 percent of 500. Other options — 25 percent (the number unemployed used as the rate); 500 percent (the labour force used as the rate).