6 Type of Unemployment

 6 Type of Unemployment 

1. Real wage unemployment 
2. Cyclical Unemployment 
3. Structural Unemployment 
4. Frictional Unemployment 
5. Hidden Unemployment 
6. Long term Unemployment 

An introduction

Know the meaning of unemployment. Unemployment refers to the status of being without work but actively seeking work. Economists differentiate between a variety of overlapping types and theories of unemployment, including cyclical or Keynesian unemployment, frictional unemployment, structural unemployment, and classical unemployment. Additionally, seasonal unemployment, hardcore unemployment, and covert unemployment are occasionally addressed.

Though the economics literature contains numerous definitions of "voluntary" and "involuntary" unemployment, a straightforward difference is frequently made. While voluntary unemployment is a result of an individual's choices, involuntary unemployment occurs as a result of the socioeconomic environment in which individuals operate (including market structure, government intervention, and aggregate demand). In this sense, the majority, if not all, of frictional unemployment is voluntary, reflecting individual search activity. Voluntary unemployment refers to people who decline low-wage positions, whereas involuntary unemployment refers to workers laid off as a result of an economic downturn, industrial decline, firm bankruptcy, or organizational restructuring.

By contrast, cyclical, structural, and classical unemployment are generally involuntary in nature. However, structural unemployment may reflect prior choices made by the unemployed, whereas classical (natural) unemployment may come from labour unions or political parties making legislative and economic choices.

Even when wages are permitted to adjust, the clearest cases of involuntary unemployment are those with fewer job openings than jobless employees; thus, even if all job openings were filled, some unemployed workers would stay. That is the case with cyclical unemployment, whereby macroeconomic pressures generate microeconomic unemployment, which can boomerang and intensify the macroeconomic forces that created it

2- Cyclical Unemployment - In a cyclical, deficient-demand, or Keynesian unemployment, there isn't enough aggregate demand in the economy to make enough money to hire everyone who wants to work. Demand for most goods and services goes down, which means less product is needed, which means fewer workers are needed, wages don't fall to meet the equilibrium level, and unemployment happens as wages don't change. Its name comes from the fact that there are many ups and downs in the business cycle. Unemployment can also last for a long time, like during the Great Depression.

As the number of unemployed workers grows, so does the number of jobs available. Even if all open jobs were filled, some workers would still be unemployed even if all jobs were filled. Some people think of cyclical unemployment as frictional unemployment because some of the factors that cause the friction are caused by cyclical variables. For example, a sudden drop in the money supply could slow down aggregate demand, which would slow down labour demand.

Keynesian economists, on the other hand, think that the lack of jobs could be solved by the government. One way to help people and businesses get more jobs and buy more goods is to spend money in the deficit. Another option is to use an expansionary monetary policy to make more money available, which should lower interest rates. This, in turn, should lead to more non-government spending.

3- Structural Unemployment -Structural unemployment occurs when a labour market is unable to provide jobs for everyone who desires them due to a skills mismatch between jobless persons' talents and the skills required for accessible jobs. Except for its duration, structural unemployment is difficult to distinguish empirically from frictional unemployment. As with frictional unemployment, mere demand-side stimulation alone will not be sufficient to eliminate this type of unemployment.

Structural unemployment can also be exacerbated by continuous cyclical unemployment: when an economy has prolonged low aggregate demand, many unemployed people feel discouraged, and their skills (including job-searching skills) become "rusty" and outmoded. Debt problems can result in homelessness and a downward spiral towards poverty.

This means that they may not be a match for job openings produced as the economy recovers. As a result, continuous high demand may help to reduce structural unemployment. This notion of structural jobless persistence has been referred to as an illustration of path dependence or "hysteresis."

Much technical unemployment induced by the automation of labour could be classified as structural unemployment. Alternatively, technical unemployment may refer to the fact that annual advances in labour productivity result in the requirement for fewer workers to produce the same level of output. The fact that aggregate demand may be increased to address the issue shows that the issue is one of cyclical unemployment rather than structural unemployment. As Okun's law indicates, the demand side must expand rapidly enough to absorb not only the rising labour force but also the workers displaced by increased labor productivity.

Seasonal unemployment may be considered a form of structural unemployment, as it is associated with specific types of jobs (construction and migratory farm work). The most frequently cited official unemployment indicators include "seasonal adjustment" techniques to eliminate this type of unemployment from the data. This leads in significant and long-term structural unemployment.

4-Frictional Unemployment -The interval between jobs when a worker searches for or transitions from one job to another is referred to as frictional unemployment. It's also known as "search unemployment," and it might be voluntary depending on the circumstances of the unemployed person. Because occupations and workers are heterogeneous, there might be a mismatch between supply and demand, resulting in frictional unemployment. Skills, compensation, work hours, geography, seasonal industries, attitude, taste, and a variety of other factors can all contribute to a mismatch. Frictional unemployment can affect both new entrants (such as graduate students) and re-entrants (such as previous homemakers).

Workers and employers are usually willing to accept a certain level of imperfection, danger, or compromise, but not immediately. They will devote some time and effort to finding a more suitable partner. This is really good to the economy since it results in better resource allocation. However, if the search takes too long and there are too many mismatches, the economy suffers since some work will be missed. As a result, governments will look for ways to eliminate avoidable frictional unemployment through a variety of methods, including offering information, counseling, training, and other forms of help such as daycare centers.

A Beveridge curve, a downward-sloping, convex curve that illustrates a correlation between the unemployment rate on one axis and the vacancy rate on the other, is commonly used to graphically depict labour market frictions. Movements along the curve are caused by changes in the supply or demand for labour. The curve will shift outwards or inwards when labor market frictions increase or decrease.

5-Hidden Unemployment -Because of concealed or covered unemployment, official statistics frequently underestimate unemployment rates. Because of the way the statistics are collected, this is the unemployment of potential employees that is not represented in official unemployment figures. Only individuals who are unemployed yet actively looking for work and/or qualify for social security payments are counted as unemployed in many nations. Even though they are unemployed, people who have given up looking for employment and those who are enrolled in government "retraining" programs are not legally classified among the unemployed.

The statistic also excludes the "underemployed," people who work fewer hours than they would like or in jobs that do not fully utilise their ability. Furthermore, persons of working age who are enrolled full-time in school are usually not counted as unemployed in government statistics. Traditional aboriginal civilizations that survive in wilderness areas by collecting, hunting, herding, and farming may or may not be counted in unemployment statistics.

6- Long Term Unemployment  -Long-term unemployment (LTU) is defined as unemployed for more than a year in European Union data (while unemployment lasting over two years is defined as very long-term unemployment). The current long-term unemployment rate in the United States is 1.9 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is defined as unemployment that lasts 27 weeks or longer. Long-term unemployment is a component of structural unemployment, which means that long-term unemployed can be found in any socioeconomic group, industry, occupation, or educational level. 

The European Commission issued recommendations in 2015 on how to decrease long-term unemployment.These recommendations were for countries to: Encourage long-term unemployed people to register with a job service; provide each registered long-term unemployed person with an individual in-depth assessment to identify their needs and potential within 18 months; provide each registered long-term unemployed person with a tailor-made job integration agreement (JIA) within 18 months. Mentoring, job search assistance, further education and training, housing, transportation, child and care services, and rehabilitation are some examples. To obtain this help, each person would have a single point of contact, which would be created in collaboration with employers.

In 2017–2019, it ran the Long-Term Unemployment project, which looked into solutions used by EU member states and produced a toolkit to help governments make decisions. The progress was assessed.