Employment and unemployment

What the syllabus asks of you

• definition of employment, unemployment and full employment
• changing patterns and level of employment The nature and causes of changes in the pattern of employment, for example increase in proportion of workers employed in the tertiary sector and formal economy as an economy develops; a greater proportion of women in the labour force due to changes in social attitudes; decline in the proportion employed in the public sector as a country moves towards a market economy.
• measurement of unemployment How unemployment is measured – claimant count and labour force survey – and the formula for the unemployment rate.
• causes/types of unemployment Frictional, structural and cyclical unemployment.
• consequences of unemployment The consequences of unemployment for the individual, firms and the economy as a whole.
• policies to reduce unemployment The range of policies available to reduce unemployment and how effective they might be.