Understanding Employment (Cambridge International IGCSE Economics)
Exam board Cambridge International · IGCSEUpdated 2024-06-19
Employment Terminology
Spec point —
4.7.1· Definition of employment, unemployment and full employment
- Key terms to understand are employment, labour force, unemployment, and full employment
- Employment: refers to the economic use of labour as a factor of production
- Unemployment: Someone is considered to be unemployed if they are not working but actively seeking work
- Labour force: A country's population is divided into the labour force - and non labour force
- The labour force consists of all workers actively working PLUS the unemployed (who are seeking work)
- The non labour force includes all those not seeking work e.g. stay at home parents, pensioners, school children (these people are economically inactive)
- Full employment: describes the ideal situation when everyone in the economy who is willing and able to work has a job
Changing Employment Patterns
Spec point —
4.7.1· The nature and causes of changes in the pattern of employment, for example increase in proportion of workers employed in the tertiary sector and formal economy as an economy develops; a greater proportion of women in the labour force due to changes in social attitudes; decline in the proportion employed in the public sector as a country moves towards a market economy.
- Many economies are experiencing changing patterns of employment within their workforce and there are numerous reasons for this
Causes of Changing Employment Patterns
| Structure of the Economy | Proportion of Women Employed | Formal and Informal Work |
|---|---|---|
| - As Economies develop over time, they tend to progress through the different sectors (primary, secondary and tertiary) resulting in changes to the employment pattern - E.g. More manufacturing jobs in the secondary sector attract workers who had previously worked in the primary sector | - Changing social attitudes have increased the number of women entering the workforce - The proportion of women in the workforce still varies significantly between different economies e.g. Sweden has a much higher proportion of women in the workforce than India or Saudi Arabia | - Workers doing informal work are not included in employment statistics - Informal employment is much higher in less developed economies and tends to decrease as an economy develops |
| Proportion of Workers in the Public and Private Sector | Part-time and full-time | Work from home |
| - Between the Second World War and the late 1980's, the number of public sector employees was large in many economies - With an increase in **privatisation **and a move towards more market based economies, the percentage of employees in public sector work has decreased in many countries | - Working part-time provides more flexibility to workers and in recent years, there has been an** increase in the number of part-time workers** - In some economies workers may not be able to find full-time work and may be working 2 or 3 part-time jobs to pay the bills | - Covid 19 caused many people to think about their pattern of work. Many workers are reluctant to return to a commuting lifestyle and wherever possible, are continuing to work from home |
Was this revision note helpful?