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 needs some time to find a new job. It must suit him according to the type of activity, the level of pay and many other criteria, and even if there are such places on the labor market, it is not possible to find them right away.

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

economics considers frictional unemployment to be a normal phenomenon and not cause for alarm, especially since it is short-term in nature.

This type of unemployment is inevitable in any normally organized economy, because... Frictional unemployment reflects people's freedom to choose their place of work.

Reasons for the growth of 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 companies.

2. Factors that objectively reduce mobility work force.

3. Peculiarities of national character and way of life. With this lifestyle (people prefer to live their entire lives in the same locality), 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 inability to find 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 technical progress It constantly gives birth to new products, technologies and even entire industries. As a result, the structure of demand for labor changes greatly, and people with professions that are no longer needed join 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 unemployed people, 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 general economic recession. In this case, crisis phenomena arise in almost all commodity markets. Most firms in the country are experiencing difficulties, and therefore mass layoffs begin almost simultaneously and everywhere. As a result, the total number of vacancies turns out to be less than the number of unemployed people.

Seasonal workers are classified as unemployed. 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, and 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 listed as employed, but does not receive wages, because is on forced leave or receives only part 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 overcome unemployment? And what do we understand 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 worthy only of contempt, and only one who has worked in one place all his life is worthy of respect;

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

The right to work without any discrimination is one of the main individual rights, 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: 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 can you create new companies or expand the production of goods that are in high demand on the market. In addition, the presence of unemployment makes people fear losing their jobs and encourages them to work more productively and efficiently. From these positions, unemployment can be called an incentive for general work.

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 a country corresponds to its natural norm.

The natural rate of unemployment is a situation where only frictional and static unemployment exist in a country.

Level full employment is determined by the equation:

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

How can unemployment be reduced?

The level of frictional unemployment can be reduced by:

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

2. Elimination of facts that reduce labor mobility. To do this, you must first of all:
a) creation of a developed housing market;
b) increasing the scale of housing construction;
c) abolition of administrative barriers to moving from one locality to another;

Professional retraining and retraining programs help reduce structural unemployment.

The most difficult thing to combat is cyclical unemployment. For this task it is necessary to use many different measures:

1. Creating conditions for growth in demand for goods:
a) stimulation of exports;

2. Creating conditions for the growth of self-employment, a program to support small businesses;

3. Implementation of programs to support young workers.

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

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

Creating conditions for the growth of self-employment, 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 companies offering work specifically to young people;
2) Creation of centers for training young people in precisely those professions in which the chances of employment are highest;
3) Economic stimulation of youth employment, for example, the presentation of certain tax benefits companies in which young workers make up a specified proportion.

Conditions for the occurrence of unemployment of various types:

Lesson 34. Employment management.

State policy in the field of employment.

Lesson 35. Calculation of the unemployment rate.

Freedom of choice as a personality quality - ability determine your behavior in accordance with your own, responsible desires of today; the ability to choose the right path and make the optimal decision.

The poor peasant committed a crime. He was caught and brought to trial before the ruler. For his act in those lands, the death penalty was imposed, but the ruler invited him to choose his own fate: either to be hanged, or to enter a large, black, scary steel door. The criminal thought a little and chose the gallows. When they put a noose around his neck, he suddenly turned to the ruler: “The thought haunts me: what’s there, behind that door?” The ruler was surprised at the peasant’s audacity, but laughed: “Well, you see, this is a funny thing.” I offer this choice to everyone - and everyone chooses the gallows. - What’s behind the door? - the criminal asks. “I won’t tell anyone anyway,” he added, smiling wryly and pointing to the noose. After a pause, the king answered: “There is freedom there.” But people are so afraid of the unknown that they prefer a rope to it.

Unlike matter, any living creature has relative freedom. How much freedom does a sofa have? He won’t be able to run away from you, like the dishes in Sergei Mikhalkov’s fable “Fedorino’s Mountain.” They sat on it, that’s it, no freedom. No choice. Try sitting on a tiger, a snake, or a passenger on a bus. Everyone will start to resist. Everyone will make a physical remark.

Air Rand in his novel Atlas Shrugged writes: “We are given the opportunity to choose, but we are not given the opportunity to avoid choice.”

Freedom of choice is impossible without responsibility. Freedom says: “You made a choice voluntarily, remember that immediately after this comes responsibility.” Freedom of choice and responsibility are inseparable. These are two boots - a pair. We say freedom - we mean responsibility, we say responsibility - he realizes that it arose on the basis of freedom of choice.

For example, a person gets married. No one took him to the registry office with a machine gun, no one put him into the marriage bed with a Druzhba chainsaw. Everything was voluntary, by mutual agreement, by free choice. The choice has been made, the Rubicon has been crossed. Now everyone has a responsibility corresponding to male and female nature. A man is already responsible for the safety of each family member, for its material support, for the emotional protection of a woman, for the spiritual development of his wife and children.

In a word, the consequence of freedom of choice is always responsibility. She follows him like a shadow. Therefore, the sofa, like matter, has no karma. A brick that falls on our head does not receive any karma, that is, it is not responsible for the consequences. No one condemned the bullet, ax or knife with which the man was killed. They had no choice. Responsibility is borne by the one who, having made a choice for himself, used them.

In the TV series Sons of Anarchy, the hero says: “The days will come when you will have to make decisions that will affect the lives of everyone you love.” The choice you make will change you forever. As you grow up, you will understand what it means to be a man. This is not about gaining respect or power. This means being responsible for your actions. Children think about themselves, following their selfish desires. Men think about others and act based on their needs.

Human power lies in the ability to make free choices. The ability to use freedom of choice is rationality, inability to do right choice- there is stupidity. Yuri Bondyrev in “Choice” writes: “All life is an endless choice. Every day - from choosing porridge and a tie in the morning to choosing the whole evening - which woman to meet, where to go, how to kill the damned time. Everything happens after a choice: love, war, murder. IN last years I often wonder what controls our choices in life? But who knows if there is a choice after death? Hell? Paradise? Dream? What will be there beyond the edge?

There is an excellent parable about freedom of choice: “Lord, remove this man from my path in life, for he makes me unhappy,” the man prayed.

It’s not his fault, but your feelings,” the Lord answered. - I gave everyone free will. He is free to choose what to do, just like you. And you are free to choose how to relate to what is happening. You can give up anger and condemnation, and by giving them to me, you can receive love, forgiveness and happiness in return. But know, if suddenly you get tired of your happiness and you again want to condemn, blame, be offended and suffer, then you can always return your grievances, but at the same time my peace, love and happiness will leave you. You choose what is more important to you.

From a large selection, the coveted mind can inadvertently go crazy. The larger the offer, the more difficult it is to make a choice. A climber comes into a small store in a mountain village and asks: “Are the gingerbreads fresh?” - Fresh. - What about waffles? - Better take some gingerbread. In a large supermarket it is more difficult to make a choice.

Freedom of choice is an excellent means of purifying and developing the mind. While choosing, we notice some internal struggle in our consciousness. The voice of the mind says: “I like it.” The voice of reason objects: “I don’t like much.” It's harmful, expensive and I don't need it at all. In a word, there is a motivation for choice. Nikolai Aossky writes: “In the event of a clash of motives, the choice is always made in the direction of the strongest motive.”

In other words, when choosing, there is a struggle between feelings, mind and reason. Doubts arise, and a reasonable person says to himself: “We need to consult a professional.” This is already development, the desire for complete knowledge. The choice requires using in full existing knowledge. The choice of a reasonable person is made from the standpoint of whether it is right or wrong, useful or harmful, necessary or not necessary, pure or dirty, moral or immoral. The mind understands that free choice is followed by responsibility, so it carefully chooses and, therefore, develops and improves.

Freedom of choice - there is an understanding that behind the external choice there is an internal growth or decline of the individual. For example, a married man finds himself in a SV with a woman who non-verbally indicates that she doesn’t mind having sex with him. Doesn't force him to have sex. There is freedom of choice. You can run into a clonidine addict or become infected with a sexually transmitted disease. Then infect your wife and stand smiling guiltily in front of the venereologist.

The husband returns from a business trip and says to his wife: “Here we are!” - Who are we? – Me and pubic lice.

In a word, without internal growth or decline you cannot make an external choice. There is only one road in life - either up or down. The choice is limited, but the main thing is that it is there. When making a choice, a reasonable person strives to understand WHY he is doing it. If you know why, you can answer the question “How should I do this.” Freedom of choice presupposes clarity in the “Why and how” connection.

A fool is preoccupied with the question “How?”, that’s why everything turns out how he does. He doesn’t think why I’m doing this, why. Wisdom is to think and understand first about “why”, and only then about “how”. With this approach, self-development and self-awareness occur, a person grows personally, and his mind develops.

Philosopher Vyacheslav Ruzov says that to make the right choice, you need to understand why. If we understand why, we understand how. If we don’t understand why, how, it’s also not possible. Therefore, if we understand why we live, then it becomes clear how we should live. Everything is very simple, no questions arise, nothing to argue about. The world is complex and mysterious, but if we understand why, it’s immediately clear how.

Freedom of choice - there is an opportunity to renounce our bad, evil desires. A person's desire is the greatest force that influences his destiny. Desires that bring happiness to those around us make us happy. A desire that brings suffering to those around us makes us unhappy. If a person sets high life goals for himself, his desires are directly related to the implementation of these goals. Therefore, freedom of choice means that a person learns to desire what corresponds to his main life goals.

- Master, what is freedom of choice? - This is when you choose the lesser of two evils.

Freedom of choice is the ability to choose the right path and make the optimal decision. People under the influence of the energy of passion and especially ignorance understand freedom of choice in the context that I move what I want, where I want, I trample there, whatever goes to my head, that’s what I have to do. In a word, the one who indulges his bad desires is free: “I am a free person, so go for a walk, you flaw, from a ruble and above.” I can drink, smoke, have sex, walk naked in public places, eat whatever I want and to my heart's content.

Man is free to do stupid things. You just have to know that you will have to suffer for them. Life is a boomerang. For everything stupid and base you will have to pay with suffering. Therefore, freedom of choice consists in tearing, like Bobik a rag, your bad desires, your swollen “I want”, usually coming from the past, and affirming what the mind wants now. It is the mind, not the feelings and the changeable mind.

A person thinks that desires have come to him now and this is his freedom of choice. Misconception. Desires mainly come from the past and force a person to turn into an animal: drink, walk, debauch, engage in all sorts of obscenities. In other words, keep doing stupid things. A reasonable person makes a choice between the desires of the past and the reasonable desires of today.

Happy is the person who realized that his freedom of choice, his happiness lies in the fight against his past desires. Whoever conquers his past desires becomes happy and free, because he has the right to live as he should, as his soul, conscience and mind advise him. A slave to his past desires deprives himself of freedom of choice. Freedom of choice lies within, not without. Due to bad karma, stupid desires come to us. You need to give them a turn from the gate, and they will leave without a hitch.

How long does it take to choose? Sometimes there is only one moment between the situation that has arisen and the reaction to it. This is enough to become a coward, a traitor, a dishonest person. And you can, by making the right choice, become even more convinced that you are a noble and decent person.

Every moment has its own reason,

Its own bells, its own mark.

Moments are given away - shame on anyone,

For some - disgrace, and for others - immortality!

In other words, you need to emerge from any negative circumstances nobly, with dignity and honor, with a human face, as if God is looking at you at the moment when you make a choice. A noble person always makes a choice in unison with his conscience.

We need to be grateful to God for giving us a period of time, even a moment, during which we can try to make the right choice. The reasonable one chooses, the unreasonable one surrenders to the power of insatiable feelings and a lustful mind. Reasonableness is the ability to apply synthesized knowledge in the space between the stimulus and the reaction, while exhibiting real action.

For example, a tram boor troubles passengers. How to proceed. The irritant is boorish. There is time to choose how to behave. You can try to be rude to him, punch him in the impudent, nasty face, demand to stop the tram and urge passengers to jointly make some physical comments to the boor and give him a kick to speed up when flying out the door, try to reassure him, ignore him, and much more. In a word, there is always freedom of choice, like the space between the occurrence of an irritating factor and the reaction to it. In a word, man received God's greatest gift - time to choose.

Almost everything can be taken away from a person except freedom of choice. Who, for example, can take away a person’s freedom, how to react to the behavior of a scoundrel or to the most unfavorable situation? Austrian psychologist Viktor Frankl is the author of the book “Say Yes to Life.” Psychologist in a concentration camp,” being a Jew, went through all the horrors of fascist concentration camps from the beginning of the war and with his life proved even to the amazed executioners that it is possible, without humiliation, to accept life in its most terrible forms. Psychological and physiological experiments were performed on him. A world-famous scientist had to stand naked on the cold cement floor of a torture chamber in the beams of a spotlight. Hungry, exhausted, he did not feel humiliated because he knew that “my ability to respond to this and want something, they cannot take away from me.”

He later recalled: “So, I remember how one morning I walked out of the camp, no longer able to endure hunger, cold and pain in my foot, swollen from dropsy, frostbitten and festering. My situation seemed hopeless to me. Then I imagined myself standing at a lectern in a large, beautiful, warm and bright lecture hall in front of an interested audience, giving a lecture on “Group Psychotherapeutic Experiences in a Concentration Camp” and talking about everything I had been through. Believe me, at that moment I could not hope that the day would come when I would actually have the opportunity to give such a lecture.

Frankl organized an information service in the concentration camp, and when anyone expressed suicidal thoughts or showed a real intention to commit suicide, he was immediately informed about it: “What was to be done? We had to awaken the will to live, to continue existing, to survive imprisonment. But in each case, the courage to live or the weariness of life depended solely on whether the person had faith in the meaning of life, in his life. The motto of all the psychotherapeutic work carried out in the concentration camp can be the words of Nietzsche: “He who knows the “why” of living will overcome almost any “how”.”

Parable on topic.

Once upon a time there lived one Teacher. This strange man remained happy all his life, the smile never left his face for a second! His whole life seemed to be filled with the aroma of a holiday... And even on his deathbed, he continued to joke and laugh cheerfully. He seemed to be enjoying the coming of death! His students sat around - puzzled, confused - and perplexed. And finally, one of them could not stand it and asked: - Teacher, why are you laughing? You've laughed all your life. But we never dared to ask you how you manage to do this. And now we are completely confused. Dying, you continue to laugh! But what's so funny about that?! And the old man answered: “Many years ago I came to my Teacher.” I was young and stupid then, just like you are now. I was only seventeen years old, and I was already a sufferer - exhausted and embittered by life. My Teacher was seventy then, and he laughed just like that, for no reason. I asked him: “How do you do this?” And he replied: “I am free in my choice. And this is my choice. Every morning when I open my eyes, I ask myself: what will you choose today - bliss or suffering? And so it turns out that since then, I choose bliss every morning. But it’s so natural!

Petr Kovalev 2015

Read the text and complete tasks C1 – C6.

Unemployment

If a person is given freedom to choose his type of activity and place of work, in every this moment Some workers find themselves “between jobs.” Some leave on their own in search of more interesting or better paid work. There are those who are 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 decreases sharply. 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 unable to quickly master other skills find themselves among the unemployed. For example, many years ago, highly skilled glassblowers were left out of work due to the invention of machines used to make bottles. This type of unemployment is called structural. The number of unemployed is growing and in a certain phase economic cycle, in conditions of production crisis. This kind of unemployment is called cyclical. At the same time, unemployment is distributed unevenly among various categories working population.

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

Thus, some level of unemployment is inevitable. Some economists and sociologists even view this phenomenon as positive, health-improving and stimulating for the development of the economy as a whole.

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

C1

C2

C4

C5. In the 80s last century average level unemployment in the US was approximately 10%. At the same time, among workers it was equal to 14%, among white-collar workers - 5%, and in age group 16-19 years old - 23%. What point of the text does this data illustrate? Based on social science knowledge, another social information, indicate one of the reasons for this high level youth unemployment.

C6

Keys Option 5.

Job No.	Answer	Job No.	Answer
A1		A11
A2		A12
A3		A13
A4		A14
A5		A15
A6		A16
A7		A17
A8		A18
A9		A19
A10		A20

Job No.	Answer
IN 1
AT 2
VZ
AT 4

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

	Point
The following semantic parts can be distinguished: 1) the main types of unemployed; 2) natural rate of unemployment; 3) assessment of unemployment as an economic phenomenon. Other formulations are possible that do not distort the essence of the fragment, and the identification of additional semantic blocks.
The main semantic parts of the text are highlighted, their names (points of the plan) correspond to the content. The number of allocated parts may vary
Not all main parts of the text are highlighted, their names (plan points) correspond to the main ideas of the selected fragments, OR not all selected parts of the text correspond to meaningfully and logically completed components of the text, OR not all names of the selected parts correspond to their content
Maximum score

C2. What types of unemployment do the authors identify? List three types.

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

Contents of the correct answer and instructions for assessment (other wording of the answer is allowed that does not distort its meaning)	Point
The correct answer must contain the following elements: 1) characteristics of the natural rate of unemployment: the number of job seekers is equal to the number of available places 2) two examples of situations in which the unemployment rate is higher than the natural rate, for example: - economic crisis in Western countries in the late 20s - early 30s of the last century, - radical restructuring in the economies of Eastern European countries in the 1990s. Other examples may be given.
A characteristic is given and two correct examples are given.
A characteristic is given, one correct example is given, OR two correct examples without a characteristic are given
A characteristic is given OR one correct example is given
The answer is incorrect or missing
Maximum score

C5. In the 1980s, the average unemployment rate in the United States was approximately 10%. Moreover, among workers it was 14%, white-collar workers - 5%, and in the age group 16-19 years old - 23%. What point 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 unemployment among young people.

Contents of the correct answer and instructions for assessment (other wording of the answer is allowed that does not distort its meaning)	Point
The correct answer must contain the following elements: 1) the position of the text: “unemployment is distributed unevenly among different categories of the working population”; 2) the reason for the high unemployment rate among young people, for example: - lack of experience; - low qualifications; - active search for a better job; - high expectations. Other reasons may be given.
The situation is given, the reason is given
Text position given OR reason given
The answer is incorrect or missing
Maximum score

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

Contents of the correct answer and instructions for assessment (other wording of the answer is allowed that does not distort its meaning)	Point
The correct answer must contain the following elements: 1) the student’s opinion is expressed: agreement or disagreement with the given approach 2) two arguments (explanations) are given, for example: in the case consent it may be stated that - competition in the labor market forces workers to improve their skills. - losing one job, a person can find another, more attractive one; when disagreement with the above position it can be stated that - the presence of a large number of people unemployed in production reduces the rate of its growth and leads to economic losses; - people who cannot find work for a long time lose their qualifications; - the state of being unemployed negatively affects a person’s mood and affects relationships with loved ones. Other arguments (explanations) may be given.
The student’s opinion is expressed, two arguments are given
The student’s opinion is expressed, one argument is given, OR the student’s opinion is not expressed, but is clear from the context, two arguments are given
The student’s opinion is expressed, no arguments are given, OR the student’s opinion is not expressed, but is clear from the context, one argument is given, OR the answer is incorrect or missing
Maximum score

The unemployment rate is the percentage of unemployed people in the labor force, which does not include students, pensioners, prisoners, and boys and girls under 16 years of age. The overall unemployment rate is the percentage of unemployed persons to the total labor force, which includes persons employed on active military duty.

There are several types of unemployment:

Frictional unemployment: If a person is given the freedom to choose his type of activity and place of work, at any given moment some workers find themselves in a position “between jobs”. Some voluntarily change jobs. Others are looking new job due to dismissal. Still others temporarily lose seasonal jobs (for example, in the construction industry due to bad weather or in the automobile industry due to model changes). And there is a category of workers, especially young people, who are looking for work for the first time. When all these people find a job or return to their old one after being temporarily laid off, other "seekers" of work and temporarily laid off workers replace them in " general fund unemployed." Therefore, although specific people left without work for one reason or another replace each other from month to month, this type of unemployment remains.

Economists use the term frictional unemployment to refer to workers who are looking for work or expecting to get a job in the near future. The definition of “frictional” accurately reflects the essence of the phenomenon: the labor market functions clumsily, creakingly, without bringing the number of workers and jobs into line.

Frictional unemployment is considered inevitable and to some extent desirable. Why desirable? Because many workers who voluntarily find themselves “between jobs” move from low-paying, low-productivity jobs to higher-paying, more productive jobs. This means higher incomes for workers and a more rational distribution of labor resources, and therefore a larger real volume of national product.

Structural Unemployment: Frictional unemployment quietly moves into a second category called structural unemployment. Economists use the term "structural" to mean "composite." Over time, there are changes in consumer demand patterns and technology important changes, which, in turn, change the structure of overall labor demand. Due to such changes, the demand for some types of professions decreases or ceases altogether. Demand for other professions, including new ones that previously did not exist, is increasing. Unemployment arises because the labor force is slow to respond and its structure does not fully correspond to the new job structure. The result is that some workers do not have marketable skills and their skills and experience have become obsolete and redundant due to changes in technology and consumer demand. In addition, the geographic distribution of jobs is constantly changing. This is evidenced by the migration in industry from the "snow belt" to the "sun belt" over the past decades.

Cyclical Unemployment: By cyclical unemployment we mean unemployment caused by a recession, that is, that phase of the economic cycle that is characterized by insufficient total, or aggregate, spending. When aggregate demand for goods and services decreases, employment falls and unemployment rises. For this reason, cyclical unemployment is sometimes called demand-side unemployment. For example, in the USA, during the recession of 1982. the unemployment rate rose to 9.7%. At the height of the Great Depression of 1933. cyclical unemployment reached approximately 25%. Business bankruptcies are becoming widespread various fields economic activity, and during this period many millions of people completely unexpectedly and suddenly become unemployed. The problem is aggravated by the fact that in conditions of cyclical unemployment, people are not helped either by reorientation or training for some new qualification. Changing your place of residence does not always help, because a crisis can cover the entire national economy and even reach the global level.

The full, or natural, rate of unemployment occurs when labor markets are balanced, that is, when the number of job seekers equals the number of available jobs. The natural rate of unemployment is to some extent a positive phenomenon. After all, the “frictional” unemployed need time to find appropriate vacancies. “Structural” unemployed people also need time to gain qualifications or move to another location when necessary to get a job. If the number of job seekers exceeds the available vacancies, then labor markets are not balanced; At the same time, there is a deficit in aggregate demand and cyclical unemployment. On the other hand, with excess aggregate demand there is a “shortage” of labor, that is, the number of available jobs exceeds the number of workers looking for work. In such a situation, the actual unemployment rate is below the natural rate. The unusually “tense” situation in labor markets is also associated with inflation.

There are other types of unemployment depending on its duration, concentration in certain regions, industries, age or professional groups.

• 1. Partial unemployment, when workers are forced to work part-time (week) due to lack of work or due to downtime.
• 2. Hidden unemployment, when there is irrational, ineffective employment. An example of hidden unemployment is employment in the USSR, when, for ideological reasons, part of the population was employed and received wages for absolutely ineffective, useless activities in numerous organizations.
• 3. Long-term unemployment, which is the concentration of the unemployed among certain categories of the labor force over a long period of time.
• 4. Technological unemployment associated with the displacement of living labor from production under the influence scientific and technological progress, in particular intensive economic growth.

Should you be afraid of unemployment?

Unemployment as a socio-economic phenomenon is inherent in any country with a market economy, but its scale is not so great. In Russia, the unemployment rate is, as already mentioned, approximately 8% of the labor force. This is slightly higher than in some other countries, where unemployment is within 5-6% of the economically active population. In addition to cyclicality, the dynamics of the unemployment rate are influenced by social politics states, demographic changes in the population structure, state foreign trade, the scale of defense spending, the active position of trade unions and other factors.

At the same time, official statistics do not reflect the true state of affairs in the field of employment. Methods for registering people in need of employment are imperfect. Statistics do not include persons sent on unpaid leave among the unemployed.

But the scale of unemployment should not be exaggerated, since many workers, without an official place of work, find profitable employment in shadow economy and are not taken into account by official statistics. This may include so-called shuttle traders who privately carry out export-import operations, persons engaged in small retail trade, people engaged in unregistered security activities, as well as those involved in illegal business (prostitution, pornography, drug distribution). In addition, there are many types of completely legal activities, but carried out without paying taxes and registration. These are advisory services, tutoring, home and car repairs, construction of summer cottages and some others. The scale of all this activity is quite large and provides regular or one-time employment for many hundreds of thousands of people, which should correct official estimates of unemployment in Russia and other countries of the world.

The state can influence unemployment by regulating the labor market. There are four main areas here:

• * programs to increase employment and the number of jobs;
• * programs aimed at training, retraining and advanced training of the workforce;
• * labor recruitment assistance programs;
• * programs for social insurance unemployed (allocation of government funds for unemployment benefits).

economic cycle unemployment inflation

Any market economy tends to fluctuate and become unstable. One of the key criteria influencing its development and functioning is the economically active population, which in turn is divided into:

• busy;
• unemployed.

Federal Law of the Russian Federation “On Employment of the Population in Russian Federation» reads: “employed” means citizens engaged in labor activity under a contract, which implies performing work for financial remuneration on the principles of full or part-time employment, as well as those who have any other work, including that of a periodic nature.

Unemployed citizens are recognized as a part of the economically active population that simultaneously meets the following factors:

• absence permanent income in the form of wages (excluding unemployment benefits or social payments of the enterprise upon its liquidation);
• registration with the social fund as unemployed;
• constant search for a job;
• readiness to start work immediately.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) has a slightly different point of view and believes that the unemployed are the part of the population that does not have a job, is able to work in the current period of time, and is also looking for work in the period under study. In its calculations, the ILO uses data on the population aged 10 to 72 years; Rosstat, in its methodology, takes into account ages from 15 to 72.

In the concept of “unemployed population,” the ILO and Rosstat do not include full-time university students, people with disabilities, pensioners, and part-time workers.

To summarize, we can conclude that unemployment is a situation when the working-age population makes an effort to find income, but is unable to find a job or does not want to work, so to speak, they consider the working conditions offered by the job market to be inappropriate to their requirements.

Unemployment is not an abstract thing economic concept, but a problem that affects every citizen and the economy of the country as a whole. In most cases, the loss of a permanent position leads to emotional trauma, a deterioration in the person’s standard of living and stability. For the population, the opportunity to have a stable income is one of the main indicators of success economic activity government. And during the election race political parties They use this problem to attract the attention of the electorate as the most pressing one.

Article menu

Unemployment Rate Indicators

The unemployment rate is the share of the unemployed population in the labor force.

Labor power is a citizen’s ability to work, a general indicator of the physiological and moral forces that he operates and uses in the process of creating material wealth.

Labor is a key factor of production in any modern society.

The unemployment rate is usually calculated using the formula:

Figure 0

Where: U’ is the unemployment rate;U is the number of unemployed;E – number of employees;U+E – quantity of labor force.

Each country calculates and publishes official data on acceptable levels of its economic development levels of unemployment that are natural or maximum permissible. During the year, this coefficient may change under the influence of the cyclical nature of economic development and changes in the exchange rate of the national currency.

The natural or maximum permissible level is the level of unemployment at full employment of the population, as a result of which there is no excess demand and excess supply in the market. This state is described as equilibrium in the labor market. It forms a supply of labor capable of making economic and geographical movements in an extremely short time, depending on changes in demand and the resulting production needs. Such a supply of labor allows for stable functioning economic system states.

Maximum permissible level in developed countries represents the following dynamics: from 1.5-2% in Japan and Scandinavian countries to 6-8% in North America. Based on these statistics, economists have come to the conclusion that the maximum permissible level of unemployment varies between 4-6%.

According to data presented at the beginning of 2017 by Rosstat, the unemployment rate in Russia at the end of 2016 was 5.3%, which even exceeds the expectation of the Russian Government, which stated a level of within 6%.

Picture 1

But when considering Rosstat data, it is necessary to take into account that its methodology, unlike the ILO, takes into account only the population officially looking for work at the time of sampling. And is built on research analysis individual categories citizens of our country. Also, the statistical sample excludes data for the Republic of Crimea. Therefore, the true figure may differ significantly from the official version of Rosstat. All sample data can be found on the website www.gks.ru.

Forms, types of unemployment and their characteristics

For clarity, the forms, types of unemployment and their characteristics are shown in the table.

Figure 2

Types of unemployment

1. Frictional unemployment

Summoned natural migration a type of unemployment, the main reason for which is the transition of a citizen from one job to another. As a result of such movement (during the period of selection or waiting for another job), these workers seem to drop out of the employed population.

The main causes of frictional unemployment are considered to be:

• geographical movement: a citizen changes his place of residence and may find himself without work for some time;
• change in life and professional interests: retraining, obtaining higher education, retraining;
• a new stage in my personal life: the birth of children.

Most economists believe that in a stable market situation, the existence of a moderate level of frictional unemployment is, if not desirable, then at least, a natural fact, since such a transition in most cases is due to a person’s desire to get a higher paid or interesting place work. And this, in the long term, will lead to a better and economically sound placement of its human resources.

However, in practice, job seekers have their own requirements and inclinations, and existing vacancies require specific skills and professional knowledge. This leads to an imbalance between them. In addition, information about the availability of jobs does not always appear in a timely manner. And vacancies may end up in another region, requiring the allocation of labor. This leads to delays in employment and increased unemployment.

Frictional unemployment as a short-term phenomenon will be a useful element in a format of the labor market that assumes an exact match between a available employee and the offers of the vacancy market. In the real world, such an equilibrium is impossible, and temporarily unemployed citizens lead to an increase in unemployment.

2. Structural unemployment

This type occurs due to a mismatch between the qualifications or specialty of citizens seeking work with the proposed vacancies. That is, demand in the labor market is at odds with supply.

Structural unemployment often arises as a result of improvements in production or the transition from manual to automated labor. Also in case of transfer of production to another region. As a result of this optimization, released employees are forced to look for work in other sectors of the economy.

This type of unemployment is characterized by a long period of searching for work. A person is forced not only to look for a place, but also a new direction of activity.

3. Seasonal unemployment

Seasonal unemployment is predetermined by the fact that some sectors of the economy are in direct connection with natural conditions. The most striking example of such an industry is Agriculture. In the construction and tourism sectors, seasonality also affects the number of employees. For example, cafe owners in resort areas hire only for the period May-October; keeping extra employees “out of season” is very costly for them.

The level of its load depends on how ready other sectors of the economy are to accept released citizens. And also on the desire and ability of the latter to undergo vocational training or move to another region.

However, this species has one important distinctive feature– it can be predicted.

4. Cyclical unemployment.

Occurs during a depression, crisis or stagnation in the state's economy. The need for goods and services is reduced, subsequently reducing the overall volume of production. Enterprises are cutting costs by cutting the number of jobs. It is most noticeably manifested in a large number of job searches and a small supply in all structures and regions of the country. This is the most severe type of unemployment.

Its size is calculated as follows: the number of citizens employed in the economy for a given period of time minus the number of workers who could have jobs at a normal level of production, that is, under standard load conditions of all available production capacities.

5. Institutional unemployment.

This type of unemployment created government agencies responsible for the labor market and factors affecting the distribution of labor.

These include:

• imperfection in tax system(for example, a reduced tax rate on the income of unemployed individuals);
• social guarantees for the non-working population (for example, the government establishing a high level of unemployment benefits);
• insufficient awareness of employment centers about possible vacancies.

The culprit in this situation is the ineffective functioning of the labor market. The lack of up-to-date information about the availability of a vacancy does not allow an employee to quickly fill it. Or try to move to another region. In turn, firms do not see the resumes of candidates for the positions they offer.

High social benefits and allowances for unemployed citizens, which allow them to lead a completely normal lifestyle, lead the unconscious part of the working-age population to decide on parasitism. And the reduced tax rate on social benefits may be more attractive than a sufficiently tangible one income tax from wages.

Forms of unemployment

1. Open unemployment.

There are two types:

• registered type (part of the population who has applied for support in finding work from social funds, that is, registered with the employment center and receives a monthly social benefit from it);
• unregistered type (part of the active population who prefers to work for themselves, that is, unofficially, hiding their income from the state, or the so-called parasites, people who do not like to work according to their life beliefs).

When compiling the sample, Rosstat takes into account only registered unemployed people, so its data may differ dramatically from the real ones. The ILO assessment technology involves taking into account all categories and is the most effective.

2. Hidden unemployment.

This is a difficult type to define, implying a situation where an employee is officially on the list of employees, but does not actually participate in production or participates in a greatly truncated form.

Hidden unemployment appears as a result of the following factors:

• Due to various factors, the enterprise maintains an excess number of employees receiving full wages. And as a result, the costs of their maintenance are included in the cost of manufactured products.
• The inability of the enterprise to provide employees with full-time work with an appropriate salary, but retain them as “part-time” employees. IN in this case Only employees willing but unable to work full time are taken into account; employees who deliberately come for half a day are not taken into account.
• Registration of some employees on leave without pay.
• Regular downtime of enterprise equipment for a number of technical reasons.

The reasons for its occurrence:

• the administration of the enterprise pursues a policy of maintaining the number of employees with the expectation of a quick change economic situation, introducing half-time work;
• retaining employees allows management to count on receiving a number of benefits from the state;
• often, an enterprise does not have the financial ability to pay unemployment benefits to employees, so employees are forced to leave an employee, creating poor working conditions;
• the reluctance of workers from small settlements to leave work while maintaining partial earnings, due to the lack of other work;
• for employees of pre-retirement age, continuous length of service is important;
• a small but stable income in part-time work plays a more significant role for an employee than the possibility of increasing income when looking for a new job.

Development economic relations and competition in the market for goods and services forces enterprises to optimize their numbers. This entails a reduction in the level of hidden unemployment. The main task at the moment seems to be that in the process of development market economy hidden unemployment did not turn into open unemployment.

3. Current unemployment.

This form is detected when workers in intellectual and physical labor who have key skills that meet all standards are released. This situation occurs for various reasons, the main ones:

• disproportionate development of industrial sectors in the regions;
• periodically recurring recessions, depressions and stagnation in the economy;
• irregular demand for workers (insufficient during recession and depression, excessive during production downtime).

4. Stagnant unemployment.

Stagnant or long-term unemployment is a form of lack of employment of a citizen for a long period. It leads to dire consequences in terms of both material capabilities and the emotional state of the unemployed.

It has been statistically proven that the possibility of getting a job decreases if the period without work is prolonged. permanent job. In part, this happens because after a sufficiently long unsuccessful search for work, the applicant prefers to remain on benefits as his usual security. Stagnant unemployment implies the need for assistance with retraining personnel or moving to another region where this area of ​​activity is more in demand.

5. Voluntary unemployment.

This form includes citizens who, due to various subjective factors, do not find it necessary to carry out any labor activity.

The reasons may be different:

• political and social views on work;
• religion and traditions (especially expressed in the republics of the Caucasus, where there is an opinion that it is impossible for a woman to realize herself in the profession);
• the desire of women to devote themselves to family and housekeeping;
• reluctance to work under the conditions offered by the labor market (amount of payment, length of working day);
• the loss of a citizen from society caused by his lifestyle, for example, homeless people, tramps, etc.

There are such people in any society. Even in the USA and Europe, scientists estimate their number at 14-16%. Attempts at influence, pressure, re-education or appeals to a sense of duty and responsibility did not bring any significant results. In Soviet times, there was an attempt to combat parasites, but it was not implemented quite successfully.

Economic and social consequences of unemployment

An increase in the share of physically healthy, but not engaged in any economic activity, part of society leads to negative results in various public spheres. Despite this, upon careful examination, this phenomenon can have its pros and cons.

Among the negative economic factors are:

• expenses incurred by public funds for social payments registered unemployed;
• losses on lost wages for the unemployed;
• losses tax authorities from shortfalls in tax revenues to the budget on taxes levied on individuals;
• a decrease in the level of income of citizens leads to a reduction in the consumption of goods and their production;
• devaluation of acquired knowledge during training;
• general decline in the standard of living of the population.

To the positive economic factors relate:

• creating a reserve of working groups of various qualifications for large-scale changes in the structure of the economy;
• job cuts provoke an employee to more actively express himself as a specialist needed by the enterprise, pushing him to increase his level of knowledge and strive for professional growth;
• during the period of forced cessation labor activity time is freed up for retraining, advanced training or obtaining education in a more in-demand profile;
• stimulating growth in labor efficiency and productivity.

In negative social factors it is worth noting:

• worsening crime climate in the region;
• increasing financial gaps and tensions between different social groups;
• an increase in physical and mental illness caused by stress from job loss;
• increased social apathy;
• decrease in the level of labor activity and desire for it due to a long search for a new job.

Positive social factors:

• changing attitudes in the employee’s mind about the social value of his workplace;
• increasing personal free time for communication with family and creative growth;
• freedom to choose a place of work, limited only by the required initial skills;
• changing society's attitude towards the social significance and value of work.

The main economic damage from unemployment is unproduced product. Which leads to a decrease in the total volume of material goods produced in the country and services provided. The growth of the unemployed population leads to a reduction in consumer demand. After all wage- This is the only source of income for the majority of citizens. Elimination of this source forces the population to cut their expenses to the minimum necessary needs, such as: public utilities, food and medicine. All this hinders production growth by less than necessary goods and a reduction in the production of essential goods. As a result, this leads to a general deterioration in the standard of living of the country's population as a whole.

For society, social funds and institutions, as well as individual citizens, the social component of unemployment is important. A citizen loses not only his main source of income, but also, in the process of a long search for a new place, his qualifications. And with it confidence in further successful employment.

Social assistance from the state is not able to provide a satisfactory standard of living in the face of constantly increasing prices for goods. A a large number of those in need, significantly depletes social funds.

Unemployment is a heavy and emotional burden for the citizen himself. He falls out of his usual environment, losing confidence in the need of his professional knowledge for others, his qualifications and the relevance of himself as a specialist in the future. There are frequent cases of deterioration in the physiological and moral state of the unemployed.

For the younger generation, who do not have sufficient work experience or the required level of professional skills, the lack of a labor market with vacancies without work experience can be a difficult ordeal. Such difficulties lead to the devaluation of education.

The long-term practice of countries with strong and competitive economies in the field of employment control has revealed that the labor market is not independent and does not provide solutions to employment issues without state intervention.

Measures taken by the Government of the Russian Federation to combat unemployment

State employment policy is a scientifically based process that includes measures implemented by government authorities in relation to the labor market.

Its parameters:

• improving labor reserves, increasing the speed of their allocation, protecting the interests of participants Russian market labor;
• protection and provision of equal opportunities for free labor to all categories of the working population without taking into account their political, social and religious views;
• providing conditions that provide an opportunity for a decent life and self-development for a citizen;
• comprehensive assistance to the population in the development of labor, production, creative and financial activities carried out in accordance with existing legislation;
• implementation by state funds of events aimed at helping citizens who have difficulty finding a job on their own;
• taking preventive measures to eliminate mass and reduce long-term unemployment;
• development of a system of benefits for enterprises that retain their existing staff and provide priority for newly created jobs to citizens who are in a long-term search for them;
• legislative coordination of all labor market participants to harmonize their actions;
• ensuring interconnection between government agencies authorities, trade unions of enterprises, any other associations representing the interests of employees and administration of enterprises in the development and implementation of acts to improve the employment situation;
• interstate interaction in resolving issues about the labor activities of Russian citizens outside its territory and citizens of third-party states on our territory, to perform the function of monitoring the implementation of international labor rules.