Types and forms of unemployment

Unemployment is the inevitable companion of a market economy and exists in any country. Along with inflation, it is an important factor that reduces the standard of living of the population. What is this phenomenon?

Unemployment is the temporary unemployment of the able-bodied population. It arises in a situation where the supply of labor for any reason exceeds the demand for it. The reasons may be the economic downturn, when production volumes decrease and thousands of employees are released, modernization of production, in which new implemented technologies require fewer human resources, and much more. Different forms of unemployment are caused by different reasons.

Unemployment is a serious problem for the country's economy. If its small level is useful as a reserve with increasing production volumes, high growth means not only underproduction of GDP, but also socio-political unrest until the change of power.

For ordinary citizens, unemployment is an even more serious problem. A person who has lost a job experiences serious financial and moral difficulties. In addition to material constraints and a decline in the standard of living, he experiences extreme stress, feels thrown out of life, unprotected. The self-esteem of the unemployed is sharply reduced, especially if you can not find a new job. In some cases, forced unemployment leads to the degradation of the individual, pushes people to drink and drug addiction. Consequently, it is also a serious social problem.

Economists distinguish the following main forms of unemployment:

Structural unemployment. It is associated with the introduction of new technologies, the modernization of production, while the number and qualification of labor reserves are constantly being revised. As a rule, some of the employees are subject to dismissal, some - retraining.

Frictional unemployment. This is a natural process of moving workers between enterprises, industries and cities. As a result of the search for a new job, some part of the able-bodied population is always temporarily unoccupied, which is a natural process. Data of the form of unemployment (structural and frictional) are inevitable and natural in a market economy.

Cyclic. It is caused by a fall in demand for goods and services and, consequently, by a reduction in the number of employees in the relevant sectors. Such a reduction in production occurs during times of economic crisis.

Seasonal. It is associated with different volumes of production at different times of the year, typical for the construction and agricultural industries.

Hidden unemployment. Essential to the Russian economy. It consists in the fact that, in the conditions of the fall of production, instead of dismissing "extra" employees, employees send them to unpaid leaves, transferred for a shorter period of time. Formally, such people do not belong to the unemployed, but in fact there are all signs of unemployment.

Other forms of unemployment are, to a greater or lesser extent, connected with the person of the person, his desire to work. As you know, an unemployed person has a man of working age who is temporarily unemployed, actively looking for work and ready to start immediately. Unemployed persons must be registered in special employment centers and must not abandon the work offered there if it meets their qualifications.

At the same time, there is a certain layer of unemployed able-bodied population, whose representatives are not looking for work.

Stagnant unemployment. It is typical for the transition periods of the economy, leading to a prolonged process of finding a suitable job. People who are permanently in search of work despair of finding a job and replenish the category of "always looking for". This includes representatives of the lower strata of society who, due to inadequate education and specific education, find work very hard.

Voluntary unemployment. A certain contingent of people rejects all kinds of employment and, strictly speaking, can not be considered unemployed. These are people who have a source of income in the form of, for example, rent or interest on deposits and do not need to work from an economic point of view. This includes housewives engaged in raising children and not planning to receive an independent income.

There are other forms of unemployment - regional, youth, etc.