Employment and Unemployment

• Claimant count - the number of people claiming benefits.
• Unemployment - the number of people who are willing and able to work but are not employed.
• Jobseeker allowance - If you can prove that you are actively seeking a job, the government will give you a 'job seekers allowance'.
• Universal credit - If your wages are too low to live off, the government will give you a 'top up'.
• Furlough - If the government make it so you cannot work, they will pay 80% of your salary.
• The effects of high unemployment: 1) Economic costs - lost output. PPF inefficiency, fall in tax revenue. 2) Social costs - Increase in poverty, increased demand on NHS due to stress and illness. 3) Reduced risk of inflation - Price discounts. 4) Rise in self employment and start ups. 5) Depreciation of skills due to lack of work experience
• Causes of unemployment: 1) technology 2) Declining industries and the immobility of labour 3) Delays in applying, interviewing and accepting jobs 4) high prices/low quality UK goods 5) low total demand in the economy 6) seasonal variation in demand
• remedies of unemployment: 1) improve job information 2) increased government spending or lower taxes 3) Relieve the low-paid from income tax 4) retraining 5) subsidies and improving the mobility of labour 6) tariffs, quotas or sterling depreciation
• Frictional unemployment - When workers are temporarily between jobs.
• Structural unemployment - Workers have the wrong skills in the wrong place
• Cyclical unemployment - When firms need fewer workers
• Technological unemployment - Firms replace workers with machines and technology
• International unemployment - Overseas firms replace UK producers
• Regional unemployment - high levels of unemployment in one area
• Seasonal unemployment - Unemployment for part of the year
• Voluntary unemployment - Workers choose to remain unemployed