UNEMPLOYMENT

INTRODUCTION:
Unemployment is enforced idleness of wage earners who are able and willing to work but cannot find jobs. In societies in which most people can earn a living only by working for others, being unable to find a job is a serious problem. Because of its human costs in deprivation and a feeling of rejection and personal failure, the extent of unemployment is widely used as a measure of workers' welfare. The proportion of workers unemployed also shows how well a nation's human resources are used and serves as an index of economic activity.

MESSUREMENTS:
Unemployment displays the wastage percentage of the forces and human resources. Having proper details of it can be used in so many ways to prevent it. Also these details are very helpful on so many programs such as Unemployment Insurances, Donations, etc. therefore following common procedure is used to measure the unemployment percentage. In a monthly survey of a sample of households representing the entire civilian population, information is obtained about the activity of each person of working age. To ensure precision and ease of recollection, the interviewers ask what people were doing in a single week. A person who did any work during that week for pay or profit, worked 15 hours or more as an unpaid worker in a family business, or had a job from which he or she was temporarily absent, is counted as employed. A person who was not working but was looking for work or was on a temporary layoff and available to take a job is counted as unemployed. The number of unemployed is then divided by the number of people in the civilian labor force which is, the sum of the employed and the unemployed, in order to calculate the unemployment rate. This method of measuring unemployment was developed in the U.S. and it is followed by many other countries on the recommendation of the International Labor Organization.

In some countries, instead of a special survey, unemployment estimates are developed from data on the number of people who are looking for work through the public employment offices or the number receiving unemployment compensation payments.

CAUSES:
Economists have described the causes of unemployment as frictional, seasonal, structural, and cyclical. Frictional unemployment arises because workers seeking jobs do not find them immediately and while looking for work they are counted as unemployed. Friction in this case refers to the incongruity between the demand for and supply of labor. The amount of frictional unemployment depends on the frequency with which workers change jobs and the time it takes to find new ones. This type of unemployment could be reduced somewhat by more efficient placement services. When workers are free to quit their jobs, however, some frictional unemployment will always be present. Seasonal unemployment occurs when industries have a slow season, such as construction and other outdoor works in special seasons such as at the end of the school year, when large numbers of students and graduates look for work or in winters or raining seasons where the most of industries reduce their works in outdoors. so in these seasonal occasions the unemployment rises and falls alternatively. Structural unemployment arises from an imbalance between the kinds of workers wanted by employers and the kinds of workers looking for jobs. The imbalances may be caused by inadequacy in skills, location, or personal characteristics. Technological developments, for example, necessitate new skills in many industries, leaving those workers who have outdated skills without a job. A plant in a declining industry may close down or move to another area, throwing out of work those employees who are unable or unwilling to move. Workers with inadequate education or training and young workers with little or no experience may be unable to get jobs because employers believe that these employees would not produce enough to be worth paying the legal minimum wage or the rate agreed on with the union. On the other hand, even highly trained workers can be unemployed, too. If employers practice illegal job discrimination against any group

because of sex, race, religion, age, or national origin, a high unemployment rate for these workers could result even when jobs are plentiful. Structural unemployment shows up most prominently in some cities, in some occupations or industries, for those with below-average educational attainments, and for some other groups in the labor force. Cyclical unemployment results from a general lack of demand for labor. When the business cycle turns downward, demand for goods and services drops; consequently, workers are laid off.

EFFECTS & PREVENTION:

With the three major kinds of unemployment, effects on economy are changes. So it is necessary to look at them separately. Frictional unemployment occurs as a result of labor mobility. Even when economists describe the economy as being at full employment there will be some frictional unemployment. So this kind of unemployment is generally not a major economic problem. Cyclical unemployment occurs when the economy goes into a recession. As national spending and production levels fall, some employers begin to lay off workers. Cyclical unemployment varies greatly according to the health of the economy. Sometimes the government can use monetary or fiscal policies to increase spending by businesses and households, for instance by cutting taxes. Or the government can increase its own spending to fight this kind of unemployment. Structural unemployment occurs when people who are looking for jobs do not have the education or skills to fill the jobs that are currently available. This has a big impact on the national economy. Therefore most policies designed to reduce structural unemployment provide training programs for these workers, or subsidize education and training programs available from colleges and universities, technical schools, or businesses. In some cases, the government provides support for retraining when increased competition from imported goods and services.