Frictional unemployment. freedom of choice

The consequence of production is not only inflation. The decline in the level of development of all economic spheres of society cannot but affect the state of the labor market. Inflation and unemployment reach their highest levels during periods of crisis, but these phenomena cannot be equated. It is necessary to clearly see the differences between inflation and unemployment.

The first of these phenomena reduces the standard of living of citizens. Unemployment, on the other hand, physically reshapes the existing ones. The society, which has spent a lot of money on the training of qualified personnel, is faced with their uselessness. Millions of workers are simply superfluous for production.

It is possible that time will pass and the situation will change. Companies and organizations will again need specialists. However, their dexterity and skill will already be somewhat lost, and the moral breakdown after the experienced unstable situation will also affect. Recovery labor resources society will need to provide its citizens with social and economic support, the level of which will directly depend on the type and duration of unemployment. That is why deep knowledge about this phenomenon is so important.

Basic concept

Unemployment is a socio-economic phenomenon when some part of active population does not have the opportunity to fully realize their mental and physical abilities in the processes of production of services and goods. Unemployment of citizens also occurs when the demand for labor resources exceeds their supply.

Historical facts

Efficiency in the use of labor has changed as human society has developed. So, under the primitive system, the entire able-bodied population of the tribe was involved in hunting, cooking and other vital activities. necessary processes. Full employment of people is also characteristic of the slave system. During this period, huge armies of slaves worked on plantations, and free citizens became colonists, warriors, or were engaged in various crafts. A similar picture was observed under feudalism.

Everything changed with the emergence of private capitalism. domination market relations at the industrial stage of development of society became the cause of a new economic phenomenon called unemployment. It was then that crowds of non-employed people appeared.

Who is considered unemployed?

The socio-economic phenomenon, when the population is not involved in the production processes, is closely related to the labor market. According to the ILO definition, an unemployed person is one who has this moment there is no place of labor activity, but he is looking for it and is ready to participate in the production process. However, not every citizen can be assigned to this category.

So, the disabled, the elderly and children do not fit this criterion. In addition, a citizen who has certain income, but he does not want to participate in production processes, is also not considered unemployed.

The essence of the phenomenon

The concept and types of unemployment are terms that invariably accompany market system management. This is confirmed by the entire history of the development of capitalist society.

So, from the second half of the 18th century, mass actions of the working class began in England. People protested against the use of machines, because the industrial revolution gave rise to a whole army of unnecessary workers. Then the phenomenon continued to gain momentum. This led to the fact that in 1995 a record number of unemployed people were registered on our planet. It amounted to 635 million people.

The essence and types of unemployment, as well as the number of people unemployed in production, depend on a specific period in the development of the economy, which is characterized by certain indicators, such as:

Labor efficiency;
- economic growth rates;
- the degree to which the qualifications of personnel correspond to the existing demand for them;
- demographic situation;
- employment policy pursued by the state.

According to statistical studies, the number of people unable to find a job increases especially during periods when economic crisis. An example of this is the decline in production, which was observed in 1857. During this period in England, unemployment in the metalworking industry was 12%. And in the prosperous 1853 - only 2%. A sharp rise in the unemployment rate in 1957 was also observed in the USA. For example, in New York, more than 150 thousand people turned out to be "superfluous".

The greatest unemployment was recorded during the years of the so-called It was a period lasting from 1929 to 1933. Then without a job left from 15% able-bodied population living in developed countries. For example, in America during these years more than 10 million people received the status of unemployed.

This negative socio-economic phenomenon is a serious problem in modern society. Thus, an increase in the number of people unemployed in production was observed during the crises of 1973-1975, 1979-1980, and also 1982-1983.

Types and levels of unemployment depend on the country in question. For example, if we take the data of 1985, then in Spain 20% of the population could not find a job, and in Japan - 2.6%. In the 90s in Europe (France, England, Germany and Italy) the unemployed were 10-12%, in America - from 5 to 6, in Japan - from 2.3 to 3, and in Switzerland - only 1%. These differences arise because of the different public policy countries in the field of macroeconomic regulation. Part of the discrepancy in unemployment rates is due to different definitions of the term.

What causes the problem of "extra" staff?

Unemployment, causes, types, consequences of this negative phenomenon are widely studied by economists. To date, researchers ambiguously explain the appearance of "extra" personnel. Among the available reasons are:

1. Malthusianism, or excess population.
2. Marxism, that is, the growth of the organic structure of capital.
3. High level of remuneration.
4. Keynesianism, concluded in the lack of aggregate demand.

neoclassical concept

According to economists who adhere to this theory, the number of workers employed in the production process is directly opposite to the level of remuneration they receive for their work. In other words, employment goes down as wages rise. How, then, to eliminate the problem of unemployment? Reduce wages.

Keynesian concept

Economists who adhere to this theory consistently and thoroughly prove that under conditions market economy unemployment is not voluntary, but involuntary. In their opinion, the neoclassical concept can be confirmed only within the industry, that is, the microeconomic level.

The founder of the theory, Keynes, argued that the volume of employment is directly related to the efficiency of demand for goods. In addition, employment is highly dependent on investment. The growth of such investments invariably affects the industries involved in the production of consumer goods, which leads to an increase in the demand for labor resources.

Types of unemployment

At present, a negative socio-economic phenomenon, characteristic of all countries, is subject to a certain classification. Main types of unemployment:
- friction;
- cyclic;
- structural.

Depending on the criteria and characteristics, this phenomenon can be obvious and hidden, long-term and natural, institutional, stagnant, seasonal, official and unofficial. The table below reflects the most common types of unemployment well.

frictional unemployment

It occurs when a person is fired of his own free will, when the specialist intends to find a new, more suitable job for him. As a rule, such a phenomenon is characterized by a short period of time. A specialist quickly finds a job and no longer belongs to the army of people unnecessary for production.

This type of unemployment occurs when you change your place of residence, receive a new education, or are on parental leave. A decrease in the level of this phenomenon may indicate an improvement in the provision of the necessary information to those who are looking for a job. However, economists argue that frictional unemployment inevitable. In addition, it is even desirable to some extent, because this phenomenon means that specialists receive higher incomes, which will allow the state to more rationally distribute labor resources and achieve an increase in the volume of the national product.

Structural unemployment

This phenomenon arises from the search for the desired vacancy by those specialists who have narrow qualifications. At its core, structural unemployment, examples of which exist in our country, is involuntary. It arises as a result of transformations in one or another sphere of the national economy, as well as with the development of the latest, high-tech areas and the reduction of obsolete industries.

What are the specifics of Russian structural unemployment? Examples of this phenomenon relate to those who, having a secondary specialized or higher education, cannot find a suitable vacancy for themselves. And this is happening with a simultaneous increase in demand for unskilled labor resources.

The inevitability of phenomena of frictional and structural types

The considered types of unemployment and examples of their occurrence give full reason to consider their presence in society as natural. Such phenomena are considered normal for a dynamically developing state. In other words, such types and forms of unemployment as structural and frictional are classified as natural and unavoidable. At the same time, they influence the creation of a long-term sustainable equilibrium in the labor market. The table below indicates these types of unemployment.

In essence, both of these phenomena can be called which inevitably exists even with full employment of the population. At the same time, this phenomenon corresponds to the potential GNP.

Cyclical unemployment

Such a negative phenomenon arises as a result of a decline in production in that period. economic development, which is characterized by insufficient investment in the production sector. Cyclical unemployment reaches its peak level during periods of crisis. Minimum value This phenomenon is observed during the rise in production. Of course there are different kinds and forms of unemployment, but cyclical is the most painful for the population. It leads to a drop in the income of the individual, and, consequently, to a decrease in his well-being. In addition, the presence of cyclical unemployment in society indicates the use of production capacity not in full. And this implies a reduction in tax revenues to the treasury.

The reasons why cyclical fluctuations in employment of the population occur lie in the passage by the state of certain phases of economic development. For example, in Russia, a similar phenomenon occurs due to the transition of the national economy to fundamentally new, market conditions.

The need to take into account the unemployed population

Types of unemployment and examples of their manifestations can be very different. Thus, certain forms of this phenomenon are classified based on the need to register the unemployed, which will allow the state to take appropriate measures.

At the same time, they distinguish:

1. Registered unemployment y, reflecting the number of unemployed people who are looking for vacancies and are registered with employment services opened by the state.
2. Hidden unemployment. The category of such labor resources includes citizens who are employed in the sphere of production, but are “superfluous” there. They are sent to or offered to go out part-time.

Duration of the job search period

Types of unemployment and examples of its manifestation are also different in terms of the time of existence of this phenomenon. So, a similar negative phenomenon happens:
- short-term, when a person cannot find a job within 8 months;
- long (from 8 to 18 months);
- stagnant (over 18 months).

Long-term and stagnant types of unemployment pose a particular danger to the population. And examples of this can be taken from everyday life. A specialist who does not work for a long time loses his professional level and the ability to work intensively. In addition, often such a condition becomes the cause of social degradation of the individual, which leads him to a group of drunkards or homeless people. Bring those people back professional activity is possible only through long-term individual rehabilitation work.

Unemployment

If a person is given the freedom to choose the type of activity and place of work, at any given moment some workers find themselves in a position “between jobs”. Some leave on their own in search of a more interesting or better paid job. There are people who get fired. There are also those who enter the labor market for the first time (this applies primarily to young people). All these varieties are united by the concept of "frictional unemployment".

It also happens that the demand for certain types of professions is sharply reduced. Most often, this occurs due to changes in the demand for goods and services and, as a result, the demand for labor. As a result, many people who are not able to quickly master other skills are among the unemployed. For example, many years ago, highly skilled glassblowers were out of work due to the invention of machines that make bottles. This type of unemployment is called structural. The number of unemployed is growing and in a certain phase business cycle, in a crisis of production. Such unemployment is called cyclical. At the same time, unemployment is distributed unevenly among different categories of the working population.

Full employment does not mean the absolute absence of unemployment. The rate of unemployment at full employment is called the natural rate of unemployment. It occurs when the amount job seekers equal to the number of empty seats. If the number of job seekers exceeds the available vacancies, there is a shortage of demand and, as a consequence, unemployment. On the other hand, with excess demand, there is a shortage of labor. In such a situation, the unemployment rate is below the natural rate.

Thus, a certain level of unemployment is inevitable. Some economists and sociologists consider this phenomenon even as positive, healing and stimulating the development of the economy as a whole.

It exists even in countries experiencing rapid economic prosperity. Its reason is that an employee who has been fired from his enterprise or left it of his own free will takes some time to find a new workplace. It should suit him both in terms of the type of activity, and in terms of the level of payment, and according to many other criteria, and even if there are such places on the labor market, it is not possible to find them immediately.

There are always unemployed people on the labor market who are looking for work for the first time: young people demobilized from the ranks of the Russian army, women raising children, etc.

Economic science considers frictional unemployment to be a normal and not alarming phenomenon, especially since it is of a short-term nature.

This type of unemployment is inevitable in any normally organized economy. frictional unemployment reflects the freedom of people to choose where to work.

Reasons for rising frictional unemployment:

1. Lack of awareness of people about the possibility of finding a job in their specialty with a satisfactory level of pay in specific firms.

2. Factors that objectively reduce labor mobility.

3. Features of the national character and lifestyle. With this lifestyle (people prefer to live all their lives in the same settlement), the flow of labor between regions is reduced.

Structural unemployment.

It arises as a result of technological progress, which reduces the demand for workers in some professions and increases the demand for workers in other professions.

Structural unemployment is generated by the impossibility of employment due to differences in the structure of demand and supply of labor in the labor markets of various professions. Such unemployment is more painful than frictional unemployment. It is impossible to avoid structural unemployment, this is due to the fact that technological progress is constantly giving rise to new goods, technologies, and even entire industries. As a result, the structure of demand for labor is changing dramatically, and people with unnecessary professions are joining the ranks of the unemployed.

Structural unemployment, for all its pain, may also not worry the country, but only if the total number of vacancies is not inferior to the number of people looking for work, although they have other specialties.

If there are fewer jobs than the unemployed, that's bad. This means that the most unpleasant form of unemployment has arisen in the country - cyclical.

Cyclical unemployment is inherent in countries experiencing a general economic downturn. In this case, the crisis occurs in almost all commodity markets. Most of the country's firms are experiencing difficulties, and therefore, mass layoffs begin almost simultaneously and everywhere. As a result, the total number of vacancies is less than the number of unemployed.

The unemployed are seasonal workers. They remain unemployed due to the fact that some activities can only be carried out during certain periods of the year. The most typical example is agricultural workers employed during the harvest period, the rest of the time doing odd jobs. Seasonal unemployment is familiar to people in many professions, for example, to everyone who serves vacationers at resorts.

Underemployment is a situation in which an employee is formally employed, but wages does not receive, because is on forced leave or receives only a fraction of his normal pay because works part-time.

In Russia, the labor market is regulated by the Law "On Employment in the RSFSR", adopted in April 1991.

What is full employment?

Is it possible to completely eliminate unemployment? And what do we mean by this question?

In the USSR, labor relations were built according to special rules:

Everyone has the right to work;

Everyone is obliged to work;

Anyone who does not work without good reason is subject to criminal penalties;

A person who often changes his place of work and specialty is only worthy of contempt, and only one who has worked in one place all his life is worthy of respect;

The most scarce good - housing, a car, garden plots - can only be received by those who have worked in one place for 10-15 or more years.

The right to work without any discrimination is one of the main rights of the individual, recognized in all civilized countries. And the basic rules of the Soviet Labor Code are anti-democratic and economically harmful.

Studying the problems of unemployment, economic science came to the conclusion that frictional and structural unemployment are normal phenomena and do not pose a threat to the development of the country. Moreover, without them, development is simply not possible, because if all the workers are busy, then how to create new firms or expand the production of goods that are in high demand on the market. In addition, the presence of unemployment makes people afraid of losing their jobs and encourages them to work more productively and efficiently. From these positions, unemployment can be called an incentive to work together.

Full employment in most countries of the world is understood as the absence of cyclical unemployment, with the existence of frictional and static unemployment, i.e. this is a situation where unemployment in the country corresponds to its natural rate.

The natural rate of unemployment is when only frictional and static unemployment exists in a country.

The full employment rate is given by the equation:

Full employment = labor force * (1 - natural rate of unemployment)

How can unemployment be reduced?

Frictional unemployment can be reduced by:

1. Improving the information support of the labor market, in all countries this function is performed by employment organizations (labor exchanges). They collect information from employers about existing vacancies and report it to the unemployed;

2. Elimination of facts that reduce labor mobility. For this you need first of all:
a) creation of a developed housing market;
b) an increase in the scale of housing construction;
c) the abolition of administrative barriers to moving from one locality in another;

Reduction of structural unemployment is promoted by programs of professional retraining and retraining.

The most difficult thing to deal with is cyclical unemployment. For this task, many different measures have to be used:

1. Creating conditions for the growth of demand for goods:
a) export promotion;

2. Creation of conditions for self-employment growth, small business support program;

3. Implementation of programs to support young workers.

The most difficult thing to deal with is cyclical unemployment. To solve this problem, you have to use many different measures:

Creating conditions for the growth of demand for goods:
a) export promotion;
b) support and encouragement of investments in the reconstruction of enterprises in order to increase the competitiveness of products;

Creation of conditions for self-employment growth, small business support program;

Implementation of programs to support young workers.

The following methods can be used to help young people:
1) Creation of special firms that offer jobs specifically to young people;
2) Creation of centers for training young people in precisely those professions, the chances of employment in which are the highest;
3) Economic incentives for youth employment, for example, the introduction of certain tax breaks firms in the staff of which young workers make up a specified share.

Conditions for the occurrence of unemployment of various types:

Lesson 34

State policy in the field of employment.

Lesson 35

In Russia, the freedom of choice is enshrined in every citizen by the main legal document of the country - the Constitution. Russian Federation. “Man, his rights and freedoms are the highest value. Recognition, observance and protection of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen is the duty of the state, ”Article 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation establishes. Also, the main law of the country stipulates the basic rights and freedoms of citizens, such as: freedom of a citizen, freedom to choose a place of residence and movement within the territory of the state, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of belief, freedom to choose a profession and place of work, and other rights and freedoms in accordance with generally recognized principles and norms of international law. Article 17, paragraph 2 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation states: "The fundamental rights and freedoms of a person are inalienable and belong to everyone from birth."

If we take the economic aspect of life modern society, then the same principle of freedom of choice applies here too - a citizen is free to decide on the implementation by himself entrepreneurial activity. And he can choose the type of activity himself. The freedom of choice of a person as a consumer is also protected by a law called the "Consumer Protection Law". A person is free to make a decision about any purchase - both milk and a car. It all depends on the desire of the person himself: he can buy milk from a village cow or pasteurized in tetra packs. Or buy a car from a neighbor for cheap, or take a loan to buy a six hundredth Mercedes.

Freedom of choice gives us the opportunity to be independent both from other people and from other people's opinions. We choose with our mind, heart, soul, as we like, which are initially independent of external influence. The choice of a profession is determined by the abilities or ambitions inherent in each person, regardless of his social status and financial situation. The choice of a place of residence is also an independent decision of a person, depending on his material capabilities and his ideas about comfort and prestige. The choice of the “second half”, in general, is from an area that cannot be adequately explained. But also a free choice, sometimes erroneous, but, more often, still happy.

But freedom of choice carries with it a huge responsibility - for your choice. When making a mistake, a person spends a lot of strength and energy trying to return "to the true path." Unless, of course, he is not satisfied with those life circumstances to which his mistake in choice has led. Some people go with the flow without trying to fix anything - it's easier that way, but it's also their conscious choice. There are people who seek to look into the future through all sorts of divination in order to predetermine their future fate and make the “right decision”. But fate severely punishes for this - it can go according to an "unplanned scenario", and then the "right decision" can become fatal.

V ordinary life Unfortunately, some individual citizens confuse two completely different concepts - freedom of choice and permissiveness. A person who is a representative of the executive branch has much less freedom of choice than an average person. Power gives additional powers, but it completely rejects freedom of expression. Some leaders of any state structures forget about the responsibility that falls on their shoulders in connection with the execution of their powers. And here, instead of freedom of choice, permissiveness comes, because deciding other people's destinies is a very attractive occupation. A complete feeling that "the one in power" has become both the king and God. Laws that are designed to protect the interests of the entire Russian society begin to work for one "chosen one". Our laws are not perfect, this is no secret to anyone. They can be compared with a nylon stocking of a corrupt woman, without a size and without a heel. As you want - so you pull. Or whatever is more convenient. Or whichever is better...

Another point is connected with the freedom of choice. In the Constitution of the Russian Federation, paragraph 3 of Article 17 expressly states: "The exercise of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen must not violate the rights and freedoms of other persons." For some reason, no one remembers this paragraph of the main law of the country, because everyone knows their rights by heart, but no one wants to know about their duties.

There is one more freedom - the freedom of the individual, the freedom of expression. It was given to us by the Supreme Creator. Such Divine creatures as Angels are deprived of free will. And we have it. True, we take it for permissiveness, forgetting that we will have to answer for everything before the Creator. Anyway…

Read the text and complete tasks C1 - C6.

Unemployment

If a person is given the freedom to choose the type of activity and place of work, at any given moment some workers find themselves in a position “between jobs”. Some leave on their own in search of a more interesting or better paid job. There are people who get fired. There are also those who enter the labor market for the first time (this applies primarily to young people). All these varieties are united by the concept of "frictional unemployment".

It also happens that the demand for certain types of professions is sharply reduced. Most often, this occurs due to changes in the demand for goods and services and, as a result, the demand for labor. As a result, many people who are not able to quickly master other skills are among the unemployed. For example, many years ago, highly skilled glassblowers were out of work due to the invention of machines that make bottles. This type of unemployment is called structural. The number of unemployed also grows in a certain phase of the economic cycle, in conditions of a production crisis. Such unemployment is called cyclical. At the same time, unemployment is distributed unevenly among different categories of the working population.

Full employment does not mean the absolute absence of unemployment. The rate of unemployment at full employment is called the natural rate of unemployment. It occurs when the number of job seekers is equal to the number of vacancies. If the number of job seekers exceeds the available vacancies, there is a shortage of demand and, as a consequence, unemployment. On the other hand, with excess demand, there is a shortage of labor. In such a situation, the unemployment rate is below the natural rate.

Thus, a certain level of unemployment is inevitable. Some economists and sociologists consider this phenomenon even as positive, healing and stimulating the development of the economy as a whole.

According to the book K. McConnell, S. Brew "Economics". M., 1995. S. 158-159

C1

C2

C4

C5. In the 1980s, the average unemployment rate in the United States was about 10%. At the same time, among workers it was equal to 14%, "white collar" - 5%, and in the age group of 16-19 years - 23%. What position of the text does this data illustrate? Based on social science knowledge, other social information, indicate one of the reasons for such high level youth unemployment.

C6

Keys Option 5.

C1. Highlight the main semantic parts of the text. Give a title to each of them (make a text plan).

C2. What types of unemployment are distinguished by the authors? Specify three types.

C4. What, according to the authors, characterizes the natural rate of unemployment? Based on social science and historical knowledge, give two concrete examples situations in which unemployment in a given country was significantly higher than the natural rate.

C5. In the 1980s, the average unemployment rate in the United States was about 10%. At the same time, among workers it was equal to 14%, "white collar" - 5%, and in the age group of 16-19 years - 23%. What position of the text does this data illustrate? Based on social science knowledge and other social information, indicate one of the reasons for such a high level of youth unemployment.

C6. The text notes that some researchers view unemployment as a positive phenomenon. Do you agree with this point of view? Give two reasons to support your point of view.