In every society there will always be a number of people who are unemployed. Unemployment is when there are people in our society who desire work but are unable to obtain it because of the fact that there are not enough jobs for everyone. This is bad for the Australian economy because there are lots of fit and healthy people out there who have the ability work but have to stay home and as a result they have to go on the doll.
There are five different types of unemployment: seasonal, frictional, hard-core, structural and cyclical.
Seasonal unemployment is when people are unemployed due to the changing of seasons because in some seasons there are certain occupations that have a greater demand for work then others. For example, fruit pickers and sheep Shearer’s can work only at certain times of the year and will spend part of each year unemployed unless they can find work. People affected by seasonal unemployment often work very long hours during their working season to make up for the time that they will be unemployed.
Frictional unemployment is caused bye people changing jobs constantly. A person who is unhappy with his or her job may quit their job in order to find something more suitable. A high quality secretary might leave her job because she is required to do minimal tasks like making coffee or washing plates and cups, or a factory worker may quit because his employer might not give him time off to attend a carpentry course that will improve his skills and qualifications. It will take both people some time to find new satisfactory positions and during this time they will be unemployed.
Hard-core unemployment is when people do not desire work, or who are willing to work but are unable because they are chronically ill, physically disabled or have some serious psychological problems.
Structural unemployment is the result of structural changes in the economy. This means that what the economy produces, and the is caused by the way it produces it, changes over time. The main factor of these changes is because our technology’s advancing, peoples taste in things change or industries change location. Computers may have eliminated jobs, but they also opened up new positions for those who had the skills to operate the computers. These people who have lost there job must either obtain new skills and qualifications, or stay unemployed.
Cyclical unemployment is the result of a general depression in the economy resulting from the trade cycle. When companies do not have a high level of production or consumers don’t spend enough money on goods and services this will lead to many people becoming unemployed because there is no need for them in the economy. When companies increase production and consumers increase their purchases, the demand for workers will increase again and unemployment will decrease.
There are many factors that can cause unemployment but one of the biggest factors is lack of private investment. This is caused by private companies not expanding there activities fast or not expanding them fast enough. Another main factor of unemployment is the increase of labour costs. Labour costs are the wages and salaries businesses have to pay there employees. This is a bad thing because if there wages and salaries increase to fast or are already high then businesses won’t be able to afford to pay the employees so they have to fire them. One final cause of unemployment is when there is a depression in the world economy. This is when countries of the world are going bad in there economy and cannot afford to buy as many exports as they would be able to previously. This means that Australia will produce less goods and services and will be forced to dismiss there workers.
There are no positive aspects of unemployment and is really bad for the production of the economy. This means that we are wasting our resources because instead of producing goods and services with them we aren’t doing anything with them. But this isn’t the only effect of unemployment, people’s income will also change and it will cause more poverty. Unemployment also reduces the amount of tax paid to the government which means that the government will be loosing money because since less people are working the government is getting less income tax but with whatever money they get they have to pay all the unemployed people and this is how the government gets into a lot of debt.
Long-term unemployment is when people have been unemployed for 12 months or more. This is a very serious matter because when you have been unemployed for so long you have a high risk of poverty. Long term unemployment also places a strain on the government because they have to support without getting much tax revenue.
