02/04/16      Unemployment:

The failure to use available resources, particularly labor, to produce desired goods and services.

Labor Force- above 16 years old

                     - able and willing to work
                     -employed to unemployed

Excluded from Labor Force:

1. Military
2. Students
3. Retired
4. Disabled
5. Homeowners
6. Mental Instituted People
7. People in jail/ prison
8. Those people not looking for a job.

Unemployment Rate- ideal rate 4% - 5% ( Full Employment / Natural Rate of Unemployment)

4 Types of Unemployment:

Frictional- those searching for a job 

                - temporary unemployed or in between jobs

                - transferable skills

                - ex. college; high school graduates

                - ex. laid off, looking for better jobs

Structural- changes in structure of labor force that makes some skills obsolete

                 - non transferable skills

                 - have to learn new skills to get a job 

                 - ex. move from NASA to automobile job

Frictional + Structural = NRU

Seasonal- due to time of year and nature of job.

                   Examples:

1.  School bus drivers
2.  Santa Claus/ Easter Bunny workers
3.  Lifeguards
4.  Firework stands
5.  Construction workers

Cyclical- results from economic downturns (recession)

             - as demand for goods/services fall, demand for labor and workers are laid off

             - NOT present where there is full employment