Who measures unemployment?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
How often does the BLS measure unemployment?
Every month
Employed
- Ppl who worked as paid employees
- worked in their own business
- worked as unpaid workers in a family member’s business
- full and part time
- Also includes those who are not working but had jobs from which they were temporarily absent because of vacation, illness, bad weather etc.
Unemployed
- Not employed and were available for work and had tried to find employment during the previous four weeks
- Those waiting to be recalled to a job where they were laid off
Not in the labor force
Those who don’t fit either of the first two categories, such as full-time students, homemakers, and retirees
Labor force
the sum of the employed and the unemployed
Labor force formula
Labor force=number of employed+ number of unemployed
Unemployment rate
the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed
Unemployment rate formula
Unemployment rate=number of unemployed/labor force X 100
Labor-force participation rate
the percentage of the total adult population of the U.S. that is in the labor force
Labor-force participation rate formula
Labor-force participation rate=labor force/adult population X 100
Marginally attached workers
persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past
Discouraged workers
are marginally attached workers who have given a job-market-related reason for not currently looking for a job
Persons employed part-time for economic reasons
those who wants and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule
Frictional unemployment
unemployment that results because it takes time for workers to search for the jobs that best suit their tastes and skills
Structural unemployment
unemployment that results because the number of jobs available in some labor markets is insufficient to provide a job for everyone who wants one
Unemployment insurance
a government program that partially protects workers’ incomes when they become unemployed (the unemployed who quit their jobs, were fired for cause, or just entered the labor force are not eligible)
A union
a worker association that bargains with employers over wages, benefits, and working conditions
Collective bargaining
the process by which unions and firms agree on the terms of employment
Right-to-work laws
laws that bar a union and employer from requiring workers to financially support the union
Efficiency wages
above-equilibrium wages paid by firms to increase worker productivity
4 reasons for unemployment
- frictional-it takes time for workers to search for jobs that best suit their tastes and skills
- minimum-wage laws
- market power of unions
- theory of efficiency-firms find it profitable to pay wages above the equilibrium level