Combating Unemployment
“Of all the aspects of social misery, nothing is as heartbreaking as unemployment.” (Addams 1910)
Unemployment has long been a headache macroeconomic issue for all the governments around the world and is defined as people in working age but without job for the past four weeks according to International Labor Organization. In late 2009 the number of people unemployed or willing to work reached highest 8.2% since 1997. These increases are not start with the recession but since 2005, (Boardman 2010:105). Regarding the costs of unemployment it is not merely the problems of the unemployed themselves but also concern national output, government taxes, human resources and even social turbulence. Therefore this essay will illustrate the causes of unemployment, approaches to tackle unemployment in the UK and how approaches influence on other macroeconomic issues.
It is possibly decrease unemployment rate in nation with implementing relative approaches by knowing the fundamental causes of unemployment. To start with, causes of unemployment generally refer to two broad categories-equilibrium and disequilibrium unemployment. The former is defined as “Unemployment resulting from real wage rates in the economy being above the equilibrium level and the latter is defined as the difference between those who would like employment at the current wage rate and those willing able to take a job.” Sloman(1991:421).
Disequilibrium unemployment is generally caused by real-wage unemployment and demand-deficient unemployment. Real-wage unemployment is usually caused by the power of union or national minimum wage set above the equilibrium wage in the market. In 1970, union power reached the highest and trough at 1990, i...
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Whiteside, Noel and James Gillespie. "Deconstructing Unemployment: Developments in Britain in the Interwar Years," The Economic History Review, Vol. 44, No. 4. (Nov., 1991), pp. 665-682.
The basic definition of unemployment is without work. In macroeconomics, unemployment has a very precise definition and different types of unemployment. Unemployment is defined as the total number of adults (aged 16 years or older) who are willing and able to work and who are actively looking for work but have not found a job. (Miller 140).
The effects of prolonged unemployment went from lowered health and living standards, to protests, and general anger at the current state of affairs. This high unemployment rate was brought on by the economic backwash caused by the Great Depression. The depression took the wind out of the sails of British commerce. It lowered the expectations of common people and made them question the system under which they lived.
Labour market inflexibility in Europe is the main reason why Europe is not as dynamic an economy as the United States” Critically discuss. “Labour market inflexibility in Europe is the main reason why Europe is not as dynamic an economy as the United States” In not more than 2500 words and not less than 1500, critically discuss the above statement. Introduction Today labour markets in Europe and the USA are often compared and discussed. The general view seems to be that the US has a more dynamic economy, people tend to believe Europeans are worse off than Americans.
As different issues relating to global financial crisis and its effect on employment in European Union were brought up in the article, this report aims to analyze the unemployment situation and inflation in Europe with the aid of economic theories. In the report, the following aspects have been considered: consumer prices and how they affect inflation, unemployment and how it is related to inflation and finally,...
Unemployment refers to a situation to which where individuals are unable to find a job but are actively seeking employment. Unemployment is a major cost to an economy, because it results in the opportunity cost of lost production, as well as increased social welfare payments and a loss of taxation revenue. It also restricts domestic output and growth and has many detrimental social costs which include a loss of skills and family household tensions. In recent years sustained economic growth has been the best way to achieve a lasting fall in unemployment. When economic growth is strong, there is usually an increase in aggregate demand (AD) which means there are more employment opportunities and more resources will be needed to cope with the demand. The annual Federal Budget for 2010-11 just recently forecasted economic growth of 2% this financial year showing that Australia has well truly escaped the GFC. Consequently, unemployment is also expected to fall to 4.75% in 2011-12 from a current figure of 5.3% for the March quarter this year. Australia has been able to keep unemployment at a relatively low rate of 5-6% which is significantly lower than the OECD 's average. The RBA is also predicting growth rates between 3.25% and 3.5% in both 2010 and 2011. According to Okun 's law, unemployment will fall if the economic growth rate is greater than increases in population of the labor force and productivity growth (Trading
There are a multitudinous number of both economic and social difficulties associated with unemployment. One fundamental reason why the government particularly stresses on reducing unemployment levels is as a result it poses a great cost on the economy. Not only does it affect the economy, but also it poses a great threat towards the living standards of the unemployed people itself. This could lead to many receiving less or no income based on whether or not they receive unemployment welfare benefits from the government. Reduction in income, would lead to a less disposable inc...
However, the social and personal costs of unemployment are more extensive. These include factors such as poverty and debt, family tensions and breakdowns, homelessness, shame and stigma; of which can lead to increased social isolation, and an increase in the possibility of criminal activity (McClelland, A., & Macdonald, F.,
Mouhammed, A. H. (2011). Important theories of unemployment and public policies. Journal of Applied Business and Economics, 12(5), 100-110.
Shapiro, Carl, and Joseph E. Stiglitz. "Equilibrium Unemployment as a Worker Discipline Device."American Economic Review 74.3 (1984): 433-44. Web. 24 Nov 2009. .
Analysis of the labor market in the economy reveals a reduction in vacancies while the number of job seekers significantly increases over the past few decades (Dickerson, 2008, p.1). Particularly, the youth employment looks worrying with a serious downward trend with so many of them unemployed. The numbers of free people who are full educated or trained have also decreased. The unemployed in the economy are either inactive or unemployed. The annual changes continue to show a rise in unemployment of young people both for student and others. With lack of government employment as well as training programs, many individuals opt to seek for self-employment (Dickerson, 2008, p.1). Statistic continues to show that there has been an increase of workless people in comparison to the vacancies available. The general picture, therefore, remains that labor market constantly fails to meet the needs of people regarding employment. Although this is the case, there has been some variation across regions with Scotland and Wales in the UK showing decreased performance. There remains a risk that employment will increase in the coming years. The present concern is long-term unemployment, specifically with regards to the youths who are most disadvantaged in the labor market (Dickerson, 2008, p.1).
Unemployment is a serious and overwhelming problem in the United States that has existed since the economy of this nation began. The clear definition of unemployment is the condition of being out of work or actively looking for a job. Currently, many people around this great nation are out of work from the rise of the unemployment rate. Unemployment can be caused naturally or unintentionally by multiple ways, such as inadequacy of skills needed for the job or getting fired without any reasons. In turn, the causes of unemployment will obviously result in a variety of effects which can be psychological, economical, and social whether they are positive for negative for society and the economy.
In December 2007, the United States of America experienced a very scarce yet appealing setback. In fact, because of this specific dilemma between 200,000 and 500,000 were left unemployed and without a stable home. The national Bureau of the Economic research defined this nationwide downfall as “The great recession”. According to the U.S Bureau of labor statistics the unemployment rate has not made a drastic improvement since the start of the great recession. Unemployment has become that is still rising today with a slow rate of change. Unemployment is usually expressed as a number or as a percentage of a larger number. Although it has been ambiguous who has to be included in the percentage, there are members of society without a job, for whom it is certain that should not be added. Officially the unemployed are the people who are registered with the government as willing to work and able to work at a going wage rate but can’t find suitable employment despite an active search for work. In the article “why long-time employment can’t get back on track”, the author begins speaking on a ...
Daly, Mary, Bart Hobijn, and Rob Valletta. 2011. “The Recent Evolution of the Natural Rate of Unemployment.”
In her article Disguised Unemployment, Joan Robinson raises the question of how much governments should spend to get full employment (1936). She outlines the concept of disguised unemployment as where the market is not using capabilities of workforce for maximum output. Disguised unemployment occurs when there are no areas of employment that can employ workers at higher level of productivity and wages. Furthermore, full employment is not tied to a achieving a certain percentage of occupation, but rather to the state when every worker is where she or he is most productive.