Types of Unemployment

Unemployment refers to a situation when all able and willing persons of a country do not get suitable opportunities to work. Various types of unemployment are prevailing in the world.

  • People who are engaged in economic activities are termed workers, and they constitute the workforce.
  • The workforce is the total number of persons actually working.
  • The workforce participation rate is the ratio of the workforce to the total population of a country.
  • The worker population ratio is the ratio of the total number of workers in a country to the population in the country multiplied by 100.

Nature and Types of Unemployment

Various types of unemployment are prevailing in the world. Of these, the most important types of unemployment are


Types of Unemployment #1


Seasonal unemployment:

Because of the absence of proper irrigation facilities and subsidiary employment opportunities in rural areas, multiple cropping is not possible in most rural areas. Hence, these farmers remain idle for about 5–7 months in a year. This situation is called seasonal unemployment.


Types of Unemployment #2


Frictional unemployment:

This may be the by-product of normal economic changes such as the closing of firms or may arise out of personal factors such as the search for a job after completing education and the preference for a different job environment. It implies that the unemployed persons are conscious of their state of unemployment. Their state of unemployment can be described as open or visible unemployment.


Types of Unemployment #3


Disguised unemployment:

When more laborers are employed in a job than actually required, the situation is termed disguised unemployment.


Types of Unemployment #4


Technological unemployment:

This may arise in a situation where workers are put out of work by the introduction of superior technology in their area of operation. It is high in India as the country is undergoing technological progress.


Types of Unemployment #5


Structural unemployment:

Because of a high growth rate of population and a slow growth rate of gross domestic product, the problem of structural unemployment has arisen in many countries. When there is agricultural backwardness, the growth of industrial and agricultural output will be slow, service sectors will be small in size, and hence, the demand for labor and employment opportunities will be restricted.


Types of Unemployment #6


Educated unemployment:

When people with general or technical education do not find proper employment opportunities in accordance with their educational qualifications, they are educated unemployed.


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