unemployment

• employed

  more than 1 hour paid work

  government training schemes

  minimum 15 hours unpaid work
• unemployed

  of working age but without work. available for work and seeking work
• inactive

  people not seeking employment

  people seeking employment but who are unavailable to start work
• unemployment rate

  (no of unemployed divided by no economically active) x 100

  total unempolyed divided by (total unemployed + total employed)
• 2 ways of measuring unemployment

  claimant count

  labour force survey
• claimant count

  measures the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits
• advantages of claimant count

  easy to understand

  cost effective way of collecting data

  updated regularly, so accurate representation of levels
• disadvantages of claimant count

  difficult to compare figures over time due to regular changes

  underestimates the real number of unemployed due to those who cannot claim benefits but are keen to find a job

  fraudulently claimed benefits while working in the hidden market
• labour force survey

  A survey of employment in the UK, using the International Labour Organisation’s definition of unemployment (someone who is out of work but is willing and able to work, and able to start a job within the next 2 weeks).
• advantages of labour force survey

  more accurate as it is not based on machines but on peoples responses

  internationally accepted definition and therefore can be used for comparisons
• disadvantages of labour force survey

  expensive and time consuming to collect information so could mean that it reflects what was the case rather than today

  based on a sample which may not represent the entire population
• why is the ILO figure higher than claimant count?

  claimant count excludes:

  people who are looking for work but do not qualify for benefits

  people already claiming pensions

  student leavers cannot qualify until next term starts
• why do both methods underestimate the true figure?

  do not include people working part time who want full time

  do not include those on training schemes

  some are sickness and disability benefits rather than being employed