Labour Immobility

• What are the two barriers to people being able to work in a certain job or industry?

  • Geographical immobility
  • Occupational immobility
• How is geographical immobility a barrier for people being able to work in a certain job or industry?

  • transport - trains/buses
  • rural/city
  • housing costs - cost of living/urban weighting of wages/salaries
  • family/social ties
• How us occupational immobility a barrier for people being able to work in a certain job or industry?

  • skills
  • education gaps - access to training
  • qualifications requirements
• What is meant by occupational immobility?

  Occurs when there are barriers to the mobility of factors of production between different sectors of the economy leading to these factors remaining unemployed, or being used in ways that are not efficient.
• What is meant by geographical immobility?

  Refers to barriers people moving from one area to another to find work.
• What is labour market failure from immobility a cause of?

  • It is a cause of structural unemployment and economic vulnerability
  • it is a cause of persistent relative poverty
  • loss of economic efficiency and social welfare
• What is occupational is immobility a barrier to?

  A barrier to people finding work.
• What are towns with low mobility more exposed to?

  External shocks
• What does long term employment damage?

  Lifetime earnings
• What are areas with low mobility more likely to suffer from?

  Economic deprivation leading to a fall in incomes/higher debt levels.
• What does immobility stop?

  Immobility stops scarce resources being used optimally.
• what do the social costs arise from?

  Social costs from increased unemployment and from rising level of relative poverty.
• What factors improve labour market failure from immobility?

  • investments into training/education
  • social housing
  • free education - access for all
  • growth of apprenticeships/degree apprenticeships
  • investments into areas to improve social standing (reduce deprivation)
  • infrastructure development (e.g. HS2 - cut the north/south divide)