Labor
What is the labour force?
1. The labour force is everyone 15 years of age and older who are working or is
considered to be seeking employment.
2. People who are self-employed are part of the labour force.
3. People who collect unemployment benefits (U.I.C.) are part of the labour force
as they are considered to be seeking employment.
4. People on strike, sick leave, maternity leave or vacation are also part of the
labour force.
• Who are not considered part of the labour force?
People who are not considered to be part of the labour force
are those who are:
• a) less than 15 years of age
b) retired;
c) in the air forces
d) full time students
e) homemakers
f) volunteer works
g) living on Indian reserves or in the territories
h) welfare recipients
What is unemployment?
• The unemployed are those who are without
work but who are considered to be actively
seeking work.
What is the unemployment rate?
• The unemployment rate is the percentage of
the labour force that is unemployed. For
example there are 10 million people in the
labour force and there are one million
unemployed people, the unemployment rate
is 10 percent.
Unemployment rate=1 million/10 million *
100 = 10%
What is the participation rate?
•
The participation rate is the percentage of the
population 15 years of age and over that is in
the labour force.
Participation rate = 10 million / 15 million *
100 = 66.6%
What are the different types of unemployment?
• There are four types of unemployment:
a) seasonal unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to
seasonal conditions (ski hill operators)
•
b) structural unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to
new technology (robots replacing assembly line workers)
•
c) cyclical unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to a
recession or depression;
•
d) frictional unemployment, which is the loss of a job
temporarily due to the time it takes to get a new job.
What can be done to combat unemployment?
• Government use several measures to combat unemployment:
a) giving subsidies to businesses;
•
b) educating and retraining workers;
•
c) spending on public works
•
d) giving equalization payments to regions with high
unemployment.
What influences the cost of labour?
•
•
a) the supply and demand of labour
b) the levels of education, training, skill, experience and responsibility of
workers;
•
c) sex; women are often paid less than men, but this is slowly changing;
•
d) unionization; union members tend to receive better salaries and benefits
than workers who are not unionized
•
e) governments; which can maintain or improve salaries and benefits through
legislation (minimum wage);
•
f) the geographic isolation, danger or unpleasantness of a job can increase
wages.