Unemployment is an 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 working population. It arises in a situation where the supply of labor for some reason exceeds the demand for it. The reasons may be the economic downturn, when production volumes are declining and thousands of workers are being freed, modernization of production, in which new technologies being introduced require less human resources, and much more. Different forms of unemployment are caused by various reasons.
Unemployment is a serious problem for the country's economy. If its small level is useful as a reserve for increasing production volumes, then 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 his job is experiencing serious financial and moral difficulties. In addition to material limitations and falling living standards, he experiences extreme stress, feels thrown out of life, unprotected. Self-esteem of the unemployed decreases sharply, especially if you can’t find a new job. In some cases, forced unemployment leads to the degradation of the individual, pushes a person to drunkenness and drug addiction. Therefore, 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, modernization of production, while the quantity and qualification of labor reserves are constantly being reviewed. As a rule, part of the employees are subject to dismissal, and part - to retrain.
Frictional unemployment. This is a natural process for 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. These forms of unemployment (structural and frictional) are inevitable and natural in a market economy.
Cyclic. It is caused by a drop in demand for goods and services and, consequently, a reduction in workers in the relevant sectors. Such a reduction in production occurs during periods of economic crisis.
Seasonal It is associated with different volumes of production at different times of the year, and is typical mainly for the construction and agricultural industries.
Hidden unemployment. It is inherent in the main Russian economy. It consists in the fact that in the face of a drop in production, enterprises, instead of dismissing "extra" workers, send them on unpaid leave, and transfer them to a reduced time. Formally, such people do not belong to the unemployed, but in fact all the signs of unemployment are obvious.
Other forms of unemployment are more or less associated with a person’s personality, his desire to work. As you know, the status of unemployed person has a working age, temporarily unemployed, actively looking for work and ready to start it immediately. Unemployed persons must be registered in special employment centers and should not refuse from the work offered there, if it meets their qualifications.
At the same time, there is a certain stratum of unemployed able-bodied population, whose representatives are not looking for work.
Stagnant unemployment. It is typical for transitional periods of the economy, leading to a delay in the process of finding a suitable job. People permanently in search of work despair of finding a job and replenish the category of "forever seeking." This also includes representatives of the lower strata of society, who, due to insufficient education and specific education, find it very difficult to find a job.
Voluntary unemployment. A certain contingent of people rejects any type of employment and, strictly speaking, cannot be considered unemployed. These are people who have a source of income in the form, for example, of rent or interest on deposits and do not need to work from an economic point of view. This also includes housewives engaged in raising children and not planning to earn an independent income.
There are other forms of unemployment - regional, youth, etc.