1. Unemployment

2. Key Issues The meaning of unemployment Different types of unemployment
Consequences of unemployment
Unemployment and economic growth
Recent trends in UK unemployment
Full employment

3. Measuring Unemployment
A Working Definition of Unemployment
People able, available and willing to find work and actively seeking work – but not employed
The unemployed are included in the labour force
Officially, the unemployed are people who are registered as able, available and willing to work at the going wage rate but who cannot find work despite an active search for work. There is a long-running debate about the accuracy of the unemployment figures in the UK with many economists claiming that the true scale of unemployment is well above the official published statistics.

4. Measuring Unemployment
The Claimant Count Measure
The number of people claiming the Jobseekers’ Allowance
Monthly count of unemployed
Currently under 950,000 – about 3.0% of the labour force
Officially, the unemployed are people who are registered as able, available and willing to work at the going wage rate but who cannot find work despite an active search for work. There is a long-running debate about the accuracy of the unemployment figures in the UK with many economists claiming that the true scale of unemployment is well above the official published statistics.

5. Measuring Unemployment
The Labour Force Survey (ILO measure)
An internationally agreed standard measure of unemployment
Must have actively sought work in the previous four weeks and be available to start work immediately
Higher figure than the claimant count – approximately half a million higher
Higher because there are limits on who can claim unemployment benefit – so the true level of unemployment is higher than the official figures suggest
Officially, the unemployed are people who are registered as able, available and willing to work at the going wage rate but who cannot find work despite an active search for work. There is a long-running debate about the accuracy of the unemployment figures in the UK with many economists claiming that the true scale of unemployment is well above the official published statistics.

6. Hidden Unemployment
We may be under-counting the true level of unemployment
Unemployment in Britain may be twice as high as official statistics show. Research on the UK labour market by economists at HSBC bank takes into account anybody who is 'economically inactive', but looking for a job, not just those who are eligible for unemployment benefits
The report estimates that there are 3.4m Britons who are unemployed, as opposed to the current estimate of 1.4m people. Britain's official unemployment rate is 4.8% - one of the lowest rates of unemployment in the European Union
Adapted from newspaper reports, July 2004

7. Flows in the Labour Market
Employed
Labour force
New hires
Recalls
Job-losers
Lay-offs
Quits
Unemployed
Taking
a job
Retiring
Temporarily
leaving
Re-entrants
New entrants
Discouraged
workers
Out of the
labour force

8. Unemployment trends since 1990
The labour force survey measure of unemployment is higher than the claimant count (usually by about 500,000 people) because the survey includes more people who are actively searching for work (and available to take a job if they find one) but who do not meet the strict criteria for claiming the Job Seeker’s Allowance.

9. Unemployment since 2000

10. Comparing UK and European Unemployment
Since the mid-1990s, unemployment in the UK has been below the average for the European Union. High levels of unemployment within the EU are posing serious threats to economic and social cohesion within the economic union. EU countries now have explicit targets for raising employment – but many of the problems appear to be structural in nature and may take several years to resolve.

11. Types of Unemployment
Seasonal
Regular seasonal changes in employment / labour demand
Affects certain industries more than others
Catering and leisure
Construction
Retailing
Tourism
Agriculture
As one might expect, economists disagree on the main causes of unemployment. Some argue that we need to make a distinction between voluntary and involuntary unemployment. A worker is described as voluntarily unemployed if, at the given level of wages available, he or she does not yet wish to accept a paid job. Involuntary unemployment exists when someone would be prepared to work at the going wage rate, but for one reason or another, they are unable to find work.

12. Types of Unemployment
Frictional
Transitional unemployment due to people moving between jobs: Includes people experiencing short spells of unemployment
Includes new and returning entrants into the labour market
Imperfect information about available job opportunities can lengthen the period of someone’s job search
When workers calculate that because of lost welfare benefits and extra direct taxes they are no better off working than if they remain outside the employed labour force – thus unemployment can result from the problem of disincentives. Lower income tax rates and benefit reforms might be a solution to this – thereby boosting the supply of labour available to work in the economy

13. Structural Unemployment
Arises from the mismatch of skills and job opportunities as the pattern of labour demand in the economy changes
Occupational immobility of labour
Often involves long-term unemployment
Prevalent in regions where industries go into long-term decline
Good examples include industries such as mining, engineering and textiles

14. Manufacturing Employment

15. Changing UK employment structure

16. Textiles - an industry in long term decline

17. Cyclical unemployment
Cyclical (Keynesian)
There is a cyclical relationship between demand, output, employment and unemployment
Caused by a fall in aggregate demand leading to a loss of real national output and employment
A slowdown can lead to businesses laying off workers because they lack confidence that demand will recover
Keynes argued that an economy can become stuck with a low rate of AD and an economy operating persistently below its potential
When there is a recession we see a rising level of unemployment because of plant closures, business failures and the inevitable increase in worker lay-offs and permanent redundancies. This is due to a fall in demand leading to a contraction in output across many industries. A downturn in demand is often the stimulus for businesses to rationalise their operations by cutting employment in order to control costs and restore some of their lost profitability.

18. Cyclical unemployment using AD-AS
General Price Level
Real National Income
AD1
SRAS P1 Y1
LRAS
Yfc
AD2 Y2 P2
Real Wage Level
LD2 W1 E2
YFC2 E1
Demand for Labour W2
Employment of Labour
Supply of Labour
During the last UK recession ( ) employment fell from nearly 28.8 million to just under 27 million. And the unemployment rate measured by the Claimant Count jumped from 5.6% in 1990 to 9.7% in The deeper is the downturn, the higher the scale of cyclical unemployment

19. Real Wage Unemployment
Created when real wages are maintained above their market clearing level leading to an excess supply of labour at the prevailing wage rate
Some economists believe that unemployment can be created if the national minimum wage is set too high

20. Unemployment and Growth in the UK
A growing economy creates jobs for people entering the labour market for the first time. And, it provides employment opportunities for people unemployed and looking for work. In the last two recessions ( and ), the number of people in work fell sharply. But a period of sustained economic growth since 1993 has led to a significant increase in employment. Only certain types of unemployment are affected by changes in actual GDP (e.g. cyclical unemployment) Frictional unemployment is unaffected and structural unemployment is unlikely to decline even if there is an expansion of national output.

21. Recent examples of cyclical unemployment
Recession in the UK in the early 1990s
Unemployment rose from 1.6 million in 1989 to 2.9 million in 1993
The recent recession in UK manufacturing industry
Slow growth and rising unemployment in Germany
The end of full-employment for Japan during the last ten years

22. Economic and Social Costs of Unemployment
The private costs for the unemployed
Loss of income
Fall in real living standards
Increased health risks
Stress
Reduction in quality of diet
Social exclusion because of loss of work and income
Loss of marketable skills (human capital) and motivation
The longer the duration of unemployment, the lower the chances of finding fresh employment - the unemployed become less attractive to potential employers
Persistent unemployment in the economy can be taken as a sign of a failure of the labour market to allocate labour resources efficiently. Long-term unemployment damages individuals because they lose their self-respect and employers lose interest in them. Employers do not consider the long-term unemployed to be probable candidates for vacancies. It is therefore possible to have a large number of vacancies coexisting with high unemployment if many of the jobless have been out of work for a long time.

23. Consequences of Unemployment (2)
Economic Consequences for Businesses
Negative consequences
Fall in demand for goods and services
Fall in demand for businesses further down the supply chain
Consider the negative multiplier effects from the closure of a major employer in a town or city
Some positive consequences
Bigger pool of surplus labour is available – but still a problem if there is plenty of structural unemployment
Less pressure to pay higher wages
Less risk of industrial / strike action – fear of job losses – leading to reduced trade union power

24. Consequences of Unemployment (3)
Consequences for the Government (Fiscal Policy)
Increased spending on unemployment benefits and other income –related state welfare payments
Fall in revenue from income tax and taxes on consumer spending
Fall in profits – reduction in revenue from corporation tax
May lead to rise in government borrowing (i.e. a budget deficit)

25. Consequences of Unemployment (3)
Consequences for the economy as a whole
Lost output (real GDP) from people being out of work – the economy will be operating well within its production frontier
Unemployment seen as an inefficient way of allocating resources – labour market failure?
Some of the long-term unemployed may leave the labour force permanently – fall in potential GDP
Increase in the inequality – rise in relative poverty
The costs of unemployment include lost output (output within PPF) lost government revenue and increased expenditure on benefits. Unemployment has important social costs eg unequal income and diminished social cohesion; loss of status, alienation and frustration. The effects of unemployment will depend on its rate and duration – long term unemployment can be very costly and difficult to reduce

26. Policies to reduce unemployment
Demand and supply side approaches

27. Demand side Policies to Reduce Unemployment
These are mainly measures to boost total labour demand (reduce cyclical unemployment)
Lower interest rates (a monetary policy stimulus)
A lower exchange rate (helps exporters)
Lower direct taxes (fiscal stimulus to spending power)
Government spending on major capital projects (e.g. improving the transport infrastructure)
Employment subsidies (including the New Deal programme) – designed to reduce the cost to a business of employing additional workers
Incentives to encourage flows of foreign investment in the UK – particularly in areas of above average unemployment
Demand side approaches focus on raising the aggregate demand for goods and services. Because labour as a factor input has a derived demand, if production and investment is increasing, so too there should be a rise in the demand for new workers. The multiplier effects of an initial boost to aggregate demand may cause a higher final increase in equilibrium national income.

28. Supply-side policies to reduce Unemployment
These are measures to improve labour supply (reduce frictional and structural unemployment)
Increased spending on education & training including an emphasis on “lifetime-learning”)
Improved flows of information on job vacancies
Changes to tax and benefits to improve incentives
Measures designed to make the labour market more flexible so that workers have the skills and education that gives them improved employment options
Because the economy will always be subject to cyclical fluctuations, it is impossible to keep unemployment at very low levels on a permanent basis. In a dynamic economy there will always be industries where output and employment rising, providing new employment opportunities, but also sectors in decline where employment is falling. The labour market needs to be flexible enough to match people out of work with the skills required by newly created jobs. These supply-side policies seek to provide the economy with sufficient labour market flexibility

29. Consequences of falling unemployment
The circular flow and the multiplier:
Incomes flowing into households will grow
Falling unemployment adds to demand and creates a positive multiplier effect on incomes, demand and output.
The balance of payments:
When incomes and spending are growing, there is an increase in the demand for imports. Unless this is matched by a rise in export sales, the trade balance in goods and services will worsen
Unemployment adds to the flow of factor incomes for households and this has a direct effect on the circular flow of income and spending in the economy

30. Consequences of falling unemployment
Government finances:
With more people in work paying income tax, national insurance and value added tax, the government can expect a large rise in tax revenues and a reduction in social security benefits
Inflationary effects
Falling unemployment can also create a rise in inflationary pressure – particularly when the economy moves close to operating at full capacity
However this is not really a risk when the economy is coming out of recession, since aggregate supply is likely to be highly elastic because of a high level of spare capacity

31. Falling unemployment in the UK
Demand factors
Sustained economic growth since 1992
Growth creates jobs to replace jobs lost in industries suffering from long term decline
High levels of inward investment from overseas
Strong consumer demand and housing boom
Supply factors
Extra investment in education and training
Britain now has a more flexible labour market than in the past – workers have more adaptable skills
Employment laws have changed – easier for firms to take on extra workers
E.g. growth of temporary and part time employment

32. Falling unemployment The UK heads towards full-employment
Sustained economic growth since 1992
Growth of service sector has created many new jobs
Foreign direct investment
The UK heads towards full-employment
New Deal – helping to lower long-term unemployment
Flexible labour market – easier to create new jobs
Increased spending on education