Unemployment is an indispensable attribute of a market economy. Manifesting itself through the labor market, unemployment is still not the result of the functioning of the labor market alone. Unemployment is of a general economic nature, being a consequence of the functioning of the entire economic mechanism, because the labor market is not a separate system of social and labor relations, it is organically included in the system of all market relations, and the demand and especially the supply of labor are formed due to economic and non-economic factors. The labor market and the proportions between labor supply and demand create employment, not unemployment. Unemployment is, as it were, the “wrong side” of employment; it is influenced by factors other than those that shape the employment of the population. However, unemployment is always viewed in the context of employment: an increase in employment reduces unemployment, a decrease in employment increases unemployment.

Unemployment - this is a phenomenon in the economy when part of the economically active population is unemployed.

Unemployed - this is someone who, given the current working conditions and wages, does not have a job, can work and is looking for work.

From a macroeconomic point of view, unemployment reflects the quantitative and qualitative discrepancy in the labor market between the relatively large supply of labor and the demand for it; This is always an underutilization of the labor potential of society, the total labor force as a factor of production.

Foreign economists of different schools and directions have long been trying to identify the causes of unemployment. In the West, the peak of the study of unemployment problems occurred during the Great Depression, which refuted the classical view of unemployment as a temporary phenomenon, automatically eliminated by the market equilibrium mechanism. Foreign economists have never denied the existence of unemployment in general; moreover, they believe that a certain level of unemployment is vital due to the cyclical nature of the development of a market economy and call it natural or normal unemployment.

There are different types of unemployment: frictional, structural, seasonal, cyclical. The peculiarities of the manifestation of each of them are determined by the reasons for their occurrence. Frictional unemployment caused by the natural (normal) desire of a person to look for more profitable and interesting areas of application of his labor force. This is unemployment “between jobs,” when a person has left his previous job and is looking for another (the search process is not instantaneous, but is associated with a certain waiting time). The reasons for frictional unemployment are associated with a person’s desire to improve working conditions, increase wages, avoid conflicts in the team, move to a new place of residence, or simply change jobs to maintain vitality, efficiency, and psychological balance (psychologists recommend changing jobs at least six times in a lifetime , however, this trend has national characteristics). Frictional unemployment is always short-term and voluntary in nature, in contrast to involuntary unemployment, in which a worker can and wants to work at a given level of wages, but cannot find it. However, the voluntariness of frictional unemployment is only legal, but not economic in nature. It is economic reasons (poor working conditions, low wages, pressure from the administration, etc.) that force an employee to temporarily join the ranks of the unemployed. In Russia, frictional unemployment is, as a rule, not voluntary, but forced economic in nature; is often not recorded, since the break in work lasts one to two months, which for many people is not a reason to contact the employment service.

Structural unemployment belongs to the “normal” category, as it is caused by the need for structural changes in the economy, the emergence of new industries and industries against the background of the gradual stagnation of old ones. Structural changes in the economy are long-term, which is also reflected in the duration of structural unemployment, which occurs among those people whose profession and qualifications are outdated and do not meet the requirements of new jobs. Structural unemployment also includes technological unemployment, which is caused by the improvement of the technical level of production and industries. The specificity of the Russian economy in recent years is that structural changes are very rarely associated with technological changes (with the exception of the computerization of management and banking functions, which does not require retraining, but only additional skills to the main profession). The backbone of structural Russian unemployment is made up of people not with outdated professions, but with outdated work methods and ways of thinking, despite the fact that structural changes in Russia are associated with the replacement of market-ineffective or non-market areas of activity with highly profitable and profitable ones, which requires new knowledge and new thinking. Territorial structural inconsistencies may also arise.

Cyclical or demand-deficit unemployment occurs when aggregate demand is insufficient and is caused by a decline in production and a reduction in consumer demand due to a fall in household incomes. The professions and specialties of the unemployed are not so much becoming obsolete as they simply cannot be used due to the uselessness of part of the labor force. In the Russian economy, it is difficult to draw a clear line between structural and cyclical unemployment. If in Western countries the basis of unemployment is its frictional and structural (technological) subtypes, then for Russia the main problem is cyclical unemployment with structural elements in the form of the uselessness of part of the labor force for a transition economy (and not for the economy in general).

Natural and normal unemployment for both developed countries and Russia is seasonal unemployment. It is typical for agriculture, tourism business, some trades (fur, fish, whaling, picking mushrooms, nuts, berries, medicinal herbs, etc.); caused by natural factors and is quite easily predicted in those regions where these types of economic activities predominate.

Thus, unemployment can be caused by various reasons - a decline in production in the economy (cyclical), natural factors (seasonal), structural changes in industries (structural, technological), imperfect information in the labor market (frictional).

The combination of reasons causing one or another type of unemployment forms the overall level of unemployment in the country, which may differ from the real unemployment rate in the labor market. In this regard, in practice, the concept of unemployment is specified using various criteria for its classification (Fig. 2.15).

Specification of unemployment according to the selected criteria is important when studying the problems arising from unemployment, as well as for developing a system of social protection for the unemployed and ways to minimize unemployment. A special problem for developing passive and active employment policies and reducing unemployment is the reliability of determining the number of unemployed. Today, almost all countries use the standard methodology of the International Labor Organization (ILO) to determine the number of unemployed. This methodology is based on three criteria for the unemployed state: 1) lack of work or self-employment;

Rice. 2.15.

2) willingness and ability to work at a given time; 3) taking practical steps to find a job. In Russia, determining the real level of unemployment is quite difficult, firstly, due to the ambiguity of the criteria for the unemployed state (for example, can an involuntarily part-time worker be considered unemployed and what should be the duration of the state “out of work” and “searching for work” to classify a person as unemployed); secondly, due to the registration approach to the procedure for obtaining unemployed status (a person must register with the Employment Service, undergo a check to ensure compliance with certain conditions, and persons already recognized as unemployed should not reject job offers, and the unemployment benefits they receive are reduced with increasing length of unemployment).

These factors understate the real unemployment rate. Periodic household surveys conducted by the Federal State Statistics Service since 1992 provide a more complete picture of processes in the labor market, because they are conducted in all regions of the Russian Federation, cover the entire population of the country based on a sample observation method, all areas of economic activity, all sectors of the economy and all categories of workers, including self-employment, unpaid family workers, temporary workers and part-time workers.

The Household Survey is the only data source that combines and measures employment, unemployment and economic activity. Data obtained through expert surveys of the population increase the real unemployment rate by at least three times compared to the officially registered one. Survey programs are carried out according to ILO recommendations, which ensures international comparability of statistical indicators.

The indicator "unemployment level" (UL) is calculated as the ratio of the number of unemployed (U) to the entire economically active population (L), where L = E + U, and E is the number of employed people, i.e. UB = U/L.

The indicator “prevalence of unemployment” characterizes the total number of persons who had the status of unemployed in a certain period, regardless of whether they retained this status by the end of the period or not. The total number of persons is determined as the sum of those registered at the beginning of the period and recognized as unemployed in a given period. Statistical reporting and expert surveys make it possible to determine the prevalence of unemployment both in general and by individual socio-demographic groups (men, women, youth, rural and urban residents).

The indicator “movement of the unemployed” is characterized by a system of indicators: 1) how many new persons are registered; 2) how many persons had unemployed status at the beginning of the period; 3) how many persons were removed from the register, including those who were employed, registered for early retirement, or removed for other reasons; 4) how many unemployed people remained registered at the end of the period.

The indicator “duration of unemployment” characterizes the average duration of job search by persons with unemployed status (at the end of the period under review), as well as those unemployed who were employed during this period. When analyzing unemployment, indicators of its duration are of particular importance. The average duration of unemployment and the share of unemployed who have not worked for a long time allow us to judge the type of unemployment - frictional (fluid), cyclical (chronic).

The unemployment rate is a social indicator of economic development, and as a socio-economic phenomenon can be considered from the point of view of stock and flow. Stock is the number of unemployed (10 at a given time. Flow is a characteristic of the dynamics of the unemployed, movement in and out of the state of unemployment. Indicators of the flow of unemployed are associated with the inflow into unemployment (G) and outflow from unemployment (O). In general, there are six main flows , which characterize the state of the labor market and the unemployment rate (Fig. 2.16): from the employed to the unemployed, and vice versa, from the economically inactive to the employed, and vice versa, from the unemployed to the economically inactive, and vice versa.

Rice. 2.16.

Let's denote these flows:

• o b - the share of employees who leave the labor force;
• o h - the share of those who move from the economically inactive population to the employed;
• o с - the share of unemployed people who leave the labor force;
• o g - the share of those who move from the economically inactive population to the unemployed;
• o s - the share of those who lose their jobs and become unemployed;
• o f is the proportion of unemployed people who find work.

Thus, the unemployment rate is a function of six flows (directions of movement):

, (2.18)

where the sign above the variable indicates its direct or inverse relationship with the unemployment rate.

Unemployment indicators include the amount of unemployment benefits, which is differentiated depending on the category of citizens recognized as unemployed. The benefit is paid:

• 1) persons dismissed from enterprises for any reason (except for voluntary dismissal) and who had paid work for at least 12 calendar weeks (three months) during the last year before the start of unemployment. The amount of the benefit is determined by the following formula: during the first three months in the amount of 75% of the average earnings for the last three months at the last place of work, during the next four months - 60% of the same average earnings; in the future (five months) - 45% of average earnings. The total duration of benefit payment is 12 months of unemployment. Restrictions have been introduced on the amount of unemployment benefits - it must be no lower than 20% of the subsistence level budget (BML) for the region and not higher than the BML itself;
• 2) persons who did not have 26 calendar weeks of paid work during the year before the start of unemployment, as well as persons seeking work for the first time or wishing to resume work after a long (more than one year) break - benefits are paid at least 20% of the BPM in the region;
• 3) unemployed people studying in the areas of the employment service with the payment of scholarships during the training period in the amount of 75% of the average salary for the last three months of work; the amount of unemployment benefits for this category of persons is 20% of the BPM in the region.

The “hidden unemployment” indicator is not taken into account in the overall unemployment rate. The Federal State Statistics Service indirectly studies the scale of hidden unemployment, using enterprise reports, examining the forms of hidden unemployment - the excess number of workers; the number of people employed on a part-time basis and wishing to switch to full-time work, but who do not have such an opportunity due to the economic situation of the company; the number of persons on administrative leave without pay, on long-term leaves with the minimum wage (minimum wage); the number of people idle due to lack of material and technical resources. Thus, in Russian conditions, hidden unemployment is a situation when workers, without formally severing their employment relationship and being considered employed, do not have a job and do not receive a salary or work part-time (day, week). In international practice, this situation is called underemployment, and hidden unemployment consists of people who are not part of the economically active population at a given time, but would like to enter the labor force if the work provided to them is suitable for them.

The indicator “structure of unemployment” characterizes the unemployed by gender, age, level of education, professional status, social characteristics (workers, employees, specialists), level of income and security, and reasons for dismissal. The analysis of the structure of unemployment is carried out on the basis of a combination of statistical, operational and sociological research methods. The result of the analysis may be the development of a socio-demographic portrait of the unemployed.

The question of the socio-economic consequences of unemployment occupies a special place in the theory of unemployment. Unemployment, first of all, means underutilization of the production and human capital of society; it results in a loss of national product and national income for the country. If an economy cannot create enough jobs for everyone willing and able to work, the potential production of goods and services is lost forever. The economic costs of unemployment are manifested in non-production. The difference between the actual volume of gross national product (GNP) and the potential that could have been created, but was not produced, is usually called the backlog of GNP volume. A. Okun's law mathematically describes the relationship between the growth of unemployment and the gap between the actual GNP and the potential one. His law states: if the actual unemployment rate exceeds the natural rate by 1%, then the GNP lag is 2.5%. In this law, the fundamental point is the level of unemployment, accepted by society as natural or normal (and it, as is known, consists of structural and frictional unemployment). The natural level of unemployment is considered the maximum permissible, because it achieves a balance of factors that increase market prices and wages. As a market economy develops, the natural rate of unemployment rises. In Western countries in the 70-80s. XX century The natural rate of unemployment was 3-4%, today it is 5-6%. In Russia, this norm is difficult to determine due to the lack of stable low inflation and the presence of high hidden unemployment.

The non-economic costs of unemployment lie in the plane of social, psychological and political problems. They are associated not only with an increase in social tension in society, but also with a possible change in the country’s political course away from economic (market) reforms. The negative social consequences of unemployment are associated with a decrease in the standard of living of the unemployed, as well as the level of wages of the employed due to increased competition in the labor market; with an increase in the tax burden on the employed due to the need for social compensation and material support for the families of the unemployed; with the complete or partial loss of qualifications of persons who remain unemployed for a long time, as well as with an increase in the costs of society for its restoration; with the increase in crime, with the moral and psychological degradation of people who have been unemployed for a long time. Mass unemployment leads to an increase in suicide, mental disorders, and mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Unemployment increases the stratification of the population by income level, leads to marginalization (from the Latin marginalis - located on the edge) of certain segments of the population and social apathy (inactivity).

The main directions of state policy to promote employment of the population and protect it from unemployment are presented in Fig. 2.17.

The most promising areas for regulating employment and minimizing unemployment are active economic methods using tools to stimulate investment activity, support small businesses and self-employment, vocational training and retraining. The main tactical task is to minimize unemployment, stop its growth while simultaneously providing the unemployed with acceptable social guarantees and support.

This refers to the size of the adult (over 16 years old) working-age population who has a job. But not all of the working-age population has a job; there are also unemployed. Unemployment is characterized as the number of adult working-age population who do not have a job and are actively looking for one. The total number of employed and unemployed people constitutes the labor force.

To calculate unemployment, various indicators are used, but the generally accepted one, including in the International Labor Organization, is. It is defined as the ratio of the total number of unemployed to the labor force, expressed as a percentage.

Unemployment- a socio-economic phenomenon in which part of the labor force is not employed in the production of goods and services.

However, even in such a situation, there is some unemployment, called frictional.

Causes of frictional unemployment

Frictional unemployment occurs due to the dynamism of the labor market.

Some workers voluntarily decided to change jobs, finding, for example, a more interesting or better-paid job. Others are trying to find a job because they were fired from their previous job. Still others are entering the labor market for the first time or re-entering it, moving from the category of the economically inactive population to the opposite category.

Structural unemployment

Structural unemployment - associated with technological changes in production that change the structure of demand for labor (occurs if a worker fired from one industry cannot find a job in another).

This type of unemployment occurs if the sectoral or territorial structure of labor demand changes. Over time, important changes occur in the structure of consumer demand and in production technology, which, in turn, change the structure of overall labor demand. If the demand for workers in a given profession or in a given region falls, then unemployment appears. Released workers cannot quickly change their profession and qualifications or change their place of residence and remain unemployed for some time.

In the figure, the decreased demand is represented by the line. In this case, assuming that wages do not change immediately, the intercept represents the value of structural unemployment: at the wage rate, there are people who are willing but unable to work. Over time, the equilibrium wage will fall to a level at which only frictional unemployment will again exist.

Many economists do not make a clear distinction between frictional and structural unemployment, since in the case of structural unemployment, laid-off workers begin to look for a new job.

It is important that both types of unemployment constantly exist in the economy. It is impossible to completely destroy them or reduce them to zero. People will look for other jobs, seeking to improve their well-being, and firms will seek more qualified workers, seeking to maximize profits. That is, in a market economy there are constant fluctuations in supply and demand in the labor market.

Since the existence of frictional and structural unemployment is inevitable, economists call their sum natural unemployment.

Natural rate of unemployment- this is its level that corresponds to full employment (includes frictional and structural forms of unemployment), is due to natural reasons (personnel turnover, migration, demographic reasons), and is not associated with the dynamics of economic growth.

It occurs in cases where a fall in aggregate demand for manufactured goods causes a fall in aggregate demand for labor in conditions of downward inflexibility of real wages.

The figure shows the situation of wage rigidity. The sentence is represented by a vertical line for ease of presentation.

If real wages are above the level corresponding to the equilibrium point, the supply of labor on the market exceeds the demand for it. Firms need fewer workers than the number of people willing to work at a given wage level. On the other hand, firms cannot or do not want to reduce wages for a number of reasons.

Reasons for inflexibility (rigidity) of wages:

Minimum wage law

According to this law, wages cannot be set below a certain threshold. For the majority of employees, this minimum has no practical significance, however, there are some groups of workers (unskilled and inexperienced workers, teenagers) for whom the established minimum raises earnings above the equilibrium point, which reduces the demand of firms for such labor and increases unemployment.

Although only a fraction of the country's workforce is unionized, they prefer laying off workers rather than cutting wages. The reason is this. Temporary wage cuts reduce the earnings of all workers, while layoffs in most cases affect only the most recently hired workers, who make up only a small portion of union members. Thus, trade unions achieve high wages, sacrificing the employment of a small number of workers - union members. A collective agreement concluded between a company and a trade union can also cause unemployment. As a rule, it is concluded for a long period, and if the agreed wage level exceeds the equilibrium level, then the firm will prefer to hire fewer workers at a high price.

Effective salary

Efficiency wage theories assume that high wages increase worker productivity and reduce turnover in a firm. This policy allows us to attract and retain highly qualified specialists, improve the quality of work and the interest of employees. A reduction in wages reduces motivation to work and encourages the most capable workers to look for another job.

Psychological aspect

Obviously, there is no single wage rate for all firms in the market. In large firms, wages are usually higher. However, workers at large firms sometimes prefer to remain unemployed rather than take a low-paying job. According to some economists, this behavior is caused by workers’ self-esteem and their desire for a certain position in society.

Institutional unemployment

Institutional unemployment - arises due to the limited availability of labor force and employers in up-to-date information about vacancies and the desire of workers.

The level of unemployment benefits also affects the labor market, creating a situation where an individual who has the opportunity to get a low-paid job prefers to remain on unemployment benefits.

This type of unemployment occurs if the labor market does not function efficiently enough.

As in other markets, there is limited information. People may simply not be aware of existing vacancies, or firms may not be aware of the employee's desire to take the proposed position. Another institutional factor is unemployment benefit level. If the benefit level is high enough, a situation called an unemployment trap occurs. Its essence lies in the fact that an individual who has the opportunity to get a low-paid job will prefer to receive benefits and not work at all. As a result, unemployment increases, and society suffers losses not only due to production being below potential, but also due to the need to pay inflated unemployment benefits.

Unemployment figures

Unemployment indicators also include its duration.

Duration of unemployment

Defined as the number of months a person spent without a job.

As a rule, most people quickly find work, and unemployment seems to be a short-term phenomenon for them. In this case, we can assume that this is frictional unemployment, and it is inevitable.

On the other hand, there are people who cannot find a job for months. They are called the long-term unemployed. Such people most acutely feel the burden of unemployment and often, despairing of finding work, leave the group

Over the past few decades, the problem of lack of jobs has been extremely pressing. What are the causes and types of unemployment?

Unemployment– a socio-economic phenomenon caused by instability in the macroeconomy. When talking about unemployment in a country or city, it means that the number of unemployed able-bodied citizens exceeds the number of vacancies. For the individual,unemployment– inability to find a suitable job.

Causes of unemployment:

• new technologies that allow replacing human labor with technology;
• economic crisis;
• features of the internal economic policy of the state or a specific organization, entailing job cuts;
• growth in the working-age population.

Frictional unemployment

Frictional unemployment has a certain duration: it begins with dismissal from a previous job, and ends with entry into a new position. The employee quits of his own free will or by order of the manager, without first finding a new job in his specialty. That is why he finds himself temporarily unemployed.

This type of unemployment also includes the period when a graduate of an educational institution is looking for a job after completing his studies.

Structural unemployment

Technologies change, new offers, goods, and services appear, so the need for new professions periodically arises in society. Employers are forced to fire some workers in order to hire others. The way out of this kind of unemployment is retraining and acquiring a new profession.

When new technologies are introduced into production that can completely replace a person in his workplace, a massive layoff of workers occurs. Sometimes a specialty “dies out” completely. Since scientific and technological progress does not stand still, structural unemployment is its inevitable consequence.

Cyclical unemployment

Cyclical or short-term unemployment is caused by competition in the market for goods and services. When demand for a particular product falls, the manufacturer is forced to reduce production and lay off workers.

Since the economy experiences recessions and booms constantly, this type of unemployment is cyclical. In conditions of the economic crisis, many enterprises are forced to reduce production due to a decrease in demand for goods and services, hence the mass unemployment in this difficult period in the life of society.

Seasonal unemployment

Some types of work are tied to a specific period or season. For example, agricultural work, construction, fishing and others. A seasonal worker works hard for several months, and then is unemployed for several months.

Partial unemployment

Partial unemployment is characterized by the employee being underemployed: part-time work, shortened work week. On the one hand, the employee retains his job, but on the other, he is forced to look for another job or part-time job.

Some people look for work on their own, others resort to the help of friends and acquaintances, and still others turn to the employment center for help.

Finding a suitable job that would bring both material and moral benefits can be very difficult, but it is possible, the main thing is determination.

If you want to delve deeper into the study of such a socio-economic phenomenon as unemployment, we recommend the following literature:

1. J. Hobson “The Problems of Unemployment”
2. Boris Breev “Unemployment in modern Russia”

1. Marina Zyryanova “How to find a job in 14 days. A practical guide for those looking for work"
2. El Luna “Between need and want. Find your path and follow it"
3. Natalia Vikulina “Calling. How to find yourself in adulthood"
4. Quentin Marlowe “The Easy Way to Find a Job”
5. Oksana Krylova “How to find your dream job even in a crisis?”
6. Ekaterina Rumyantseva “Guide to job search, self-presentation and career development”
7. Jeffrey J. Fox “Take your time sending your resume. Unconventional advice for those who want to find their dream job”
8. Marusya Svetlova “Find your job”
9. Dmitry Skuratovich “An easy way to find a good job”

What type of unemployment have you/have you encountered?

Unemployment is a phenomenon that can be interpreted differently depending on the specific form in which it is presented. The methodology of its research is also important. What are the criteria for classifying unemployment that are popular among Russian experts? What can be influenced by statistical figures reflecting the employment crisis of citizens?

Approaches to classification of unemployment

Before considering the types of unemployment, let us study the aspect associated with the definition of the term under study. The fact is that among Russian experts there is no single approach to its interpretation. Unemployment, for example, can be understood as a phenomenon reflecting the objective inability of a person to find the right job, or as a condition in which a certain percentage of the working-age population is unemployed due to natural market reasons. In turn, both interpretations of the term imply certain factors that determine the corresponding status of citizens.

Modern Russian experts identify the following main types (or forms) of unemployment:

Natural;

Friction;

Structural;

Cyclic.

At the same time, if we talk about the level of the national economy, several of the noted types of phenomena can be simultaneously observed in it. In turn, at the level of any industry, types of unemployment may be presented in a less wide range.

Natural and frictional unemployment

Some experts believe that unemployment is a phenomenon that reflects the feasibility of using economic resources. Thus, in any national economic system, one way or another, it will be present due to natural reasons, reflecting supply and demand in terms of personnel. The market system of the economy is designed in such a way that the dynamics of the relevant mechanisms may be inconsistent, and accordingly, the unemployment rate will be noticeably volatile in this case. Its increase or decrease may be due to various factors: seasonal or, for example, certain macroeconomic trends that contribute to the frequent transition of people from one place of work to another.

Under the condition of noticeable volatility of indicators, unemployment is called frictional. It can be considered a natural variety, since it is determined by completely market laws. At the same time, there are experts who believe that friction is just an indicator, and not a systemic mechanism, and therefore this term sometimes refers to unemployment that arises due to factors that may differ from market ones. However, this is rather an exception. In practice, frictionality is most often understood as a phenomenon of a natural market nature.

Let's look at other types of unemployment. The structural one is especially interesting because it is observed quite clearly, as many experts believe, in our country. Let's study its features.

Structural unemployment

Structural unemployment suggests that the employment crisis is caused by an imbalance in the sectoral distribution of demand for personnel, that is, in some segments there is an overabundance of specialists, in others there is a shortage. Many researchers who have tried to determine which types of unemployment are most pronounced in Russia have come to the conclusion that exactly the one under consideration can be observed in most sectors of the Russian economy.

This is explained by a significant shift in the priorities of citizens in choosing professions that have very limited demand in the modern model of the national economic system of our country. Russians acquire humanities specialties, but are not very willing to master engineering and blue-collar professions. As a result, there is a significant shortage of personnel in production, and in a number of segments of the service sector, where humanitarian personnel are required, there is an oversupply of specialists.

Structural unemployment, therefore, reflects objective economic problems in the country to a lesser extent: businesses still attract specialists - at least those available on the labor market. However, this type of unemployment can slow down the dynamics of economic development and subsequently cause significant difficulties in the national economy. For example, when the Russian economy is now likely to have to solve problems associated with import substitution, many enterprises are experiencing a shortage of personnel to open new production facilities.

Let us note that many Russian experts classify structural unemployment as natural. And there is logic in this: the demand for specialists really appears due primarily to market reasons. Hence, by the way, the rapid growth of wages in many industries, relative to the average Russian level. In the corresponding labor market, competition for specialists arises, the main instrument of struggle in which is the salary offered by the employing companies.

Cyclical unemployment

In turn, there are types of unemployment that are caused precisely by economic problems at the level of the national economic system. The most common scenario is that in crisis conditions, the country’s enterprises simply cannot afford to hire new personnel, while there are many specialists, especially young ones, on the market. Cyclical unemployment occurs. According to some experts, it is observed in many European countries, especially in its southern part.

Having studied the essence and types of unemployment, we will consider the main factors causing the emergence of corresponding problematic situations in the field of employment. Let's start with the friction type of phenomenon.

Factors of frictional unemployment

Let's consider this type of unemployment. The frictional type of this phenomenon is due to natural economic reasons. It may arise due to the fact that the employment service in the industry or at the level of the national economy as a whole is not working well enough. That is, for example, young specialists, who are in great demand, cannot find a company where they would be satisfied with the salary and other working conditions. Although it is on the market.

Another option is that specialists are not ready to move to a place where there are many vacancies for their profession. This circumstance may in some cases be complicated by administrative barriers. For example, in Russia, when moving from one city to another, registration is required. This is not always possible to implement, so a person, knowing that such a problem exists, prefers not to move.

Another possible factor is structural changes in the country's national economy, which predetermine the desire of citizens to migrate from one place of work to another. For example, in Russia the civil service is now especially prestigious. Employees of government agencies and institutions subordinate to them receive good salaries and have social guarantees. At the same time, some time ago the civil service was considered not the most promising field of activity. But as soon as the state began to pay attention to the timely indexation of civil servants’ salaries and generally develop the sector, directing significant budget resources to it, people began to think more often about moving from commercial enterprises to the civil service.

Factors of structural unemployment

Continuing to consider the types of unemployment and the reasons that cause them, we will also study the relevant factors for structural unemployment. Some experts associate its pronounced manifestation with changes in the technologies of key industries for the country’s economy, and changes in the structure of demand for goods and services. The international factor also influences: many enterprises in the national economies of different countries of the world are export-oriented. By changing the structure of production, the employer can reduce some of the personnel or announce the recruitment of new ones, but with a different specialization.

Another factor in structural unemployment is the insufficient development of national education policy. Actually, we said above that many Russians prefer to master humanities specialties, while there is a shortage of personnel in industry. This is largely due not so much to the subjective preferences of citizens as to the imperfections of the education system. In particular, at the school stage, as many analysts believe, in Russia the procedure for identifying teenagers’ predisposition to a specific profession and subsequent development of the corresponding skills, which would then facilitate studying at a university in a chosen and, importantly, specialty in demand on the market, is not very well established .

Factors of cyclical unemployment

Cyclical unemployment appears when there are obvious crisis trends in the national economy. Other types of unemployment, which we named above, are considered by experts, rather, as quite natural for a healthy and correctly functioning national economic system.

An employment crisis occurs if enterprises do not develop and do not recruit new personnel, or even completely curtail production and lay off specialists. At the same time, crisis trends are observed, as a rule, not in any particular industry, but at the level of the entire national economic system. Production, as a rule, is also someone's customer or supplier. If it closes, then counterparties may also suffer from this.

At the same time, as soon as things begin to go better in any of the industries, this helps to impart positive dynamics to other segments that depend on it. And therefore, recovery from cyclical unemployment is usually observed at the national level; this was the case, for example, in the Russian Federation in the early 2000s, when the country began to emerge from the crisis of the 90s. Most sectors of the country's economy grew at a steady pace, and many are still actively developing.

Voluntary unemployment

Having studied the main types of unemployment and the reasons for their occurrence, let’s consider one very interesting phenomenon. The fact is that in almost every country there is a significant percentage of citizens who, due to their subjective desire, do not want to officially find a job. Or work in principle. Some experts believe that this phenomenon is a type of structural unemployment. That is, a person who is fully educated and has a profession, having not found a job in his specialty, simply stops searching and decides that he will not officially work.

Other analysts believe that the types of unemployment we discussed above and the phenomenon under study are completely different social categories. The fact is that unemployment as a term implies that a person one way or another strives for employment, but for some reason cannot get a job. However, a citizen, for example, may well quit an excellent position of his own free will and become a freelancer, simply deciding that this type of employment is more suitable for him. Should he be considered unemployed in this case?

The question is ambiguous. At the very least, this case does not fit the main types of unemployment that we defined above. In the economy, in the industry, everything can be great, but a person does not go anywhere to get a job. This circumstance, as many experts believe, makes it possible not to classify the phenomenon under consideration as unemployment.

Hidden unemployment

The main types of unemployment in the economy, as identified by Russian experts, are supplemented in some studies by another. The fact is that many enterprises have this practice: due to certain crisis trends, specialists are not laid off, but are transferred to leave at their own expense or on a minimum salary. De jure they are quite busy, but de facto they have no work. This phenomenon is called by some analysts hidden unemployment. Its specificity, however, is that, as experts note, it can always turn into real.

Ambiguity of criteria

Unemployment is a controversial phenomenon. It is interpreted differently, and certain social phenomena are interpreted often according to dissimilar criteria. The types and forms of unemployment we have noted reflect one of the many concepts of classification of the term under consideration. Let us study some examples through which we can see how difficult it is sometimes to classify a particular state of employment of citizens.

Many specialists prefer to study the labor market by simultaneously studying types of employment and unemployment. And if, for example, it turns out that a significant percentage of citizens work part-time or, for example, under civil contracts, then it is not clear whether such people should be classified as unemployed or included in official statistics. A lot depends on the specific methodology that the researcher uses.

In the methodology of some researchers, the unemployed include everyone who does not have a contract concluded in accordance with the Labor Code norms. That is, for example, an individual entrepreneur, co-owner of an LLC or OJSC with a share in a business worth several billion dollars can be considered unemployed if he does not hold an official position in the company. Interestingly, many Russian banks adhere to similar criteria when considering loan applications. For them, an individual entrepreneur or co-owner of a business is often a less desirable client than a person with an employment contract.

Voluntary unemployment, the essence of which we discussed above, is also among the phenomena whose criteria for classifying them into one or another category of social phenomena are ambiguous. Much depends on the personal attitudes of citizens who have chosen an alternative method of employment to the official one. Many people will never agree to consider themselves unemployed, although according to the methodological principles adopted at the level of, for example, state statistics bodies, they can be classified as this category of citizens.

Certain types and levels of unemployment do not always provide the average person with an unambiguous tool for understanding the real situation in the country’s economy. For example, high rates for frictional unemployment will be temporary in one way or another. However, they can significantly influence the ambiguity of society’s perception of the corresponding figures.

Above we looked at the types of unemployment and examples of countries and regions of the world where, according to some experts, they are observed. However, in different states, the criteria by which one or another level of the phenomenon in question will be considered high or moderate can vary greatly.

Consequences of unemployment

Having studied the main types and forms of unemployment, we will explore an interesting aspect related to the influence of this phenomenon on the society and economy of the country. First of all, we note that there is a point of view that the phenomenon in question cannot in itself be considered a full-fledged subject of management of society or economic processes, since unemployment, as some researchers believe, is a phenomenon that should be understood as a derivative of fundamental processes occurring at the national level economic system. The concept and types of unemployment are understood by many economists primarily as indicators, but not factors.

At the same time, there are researchers who believe that unemployment can still be a factor influencing socio-economic processes, especially in a scenario where it is expressed in certain numbers. Reports from government statistical agencies and think tanks regarding unemployment issues may well influence public sentiment. This can be traced both in terms of business activities and at the level of public institutions not related to business. In the first case, for example, a particular enterprise can, after studying unemployment statistics, decide whether or not to open a new factory line. Above we looked at the types of unemployment and examples of them in a number of regions of the world. The corresponding indicators can influence the investment attractiveness of companies operating in a particular national economic system. For non-profit institutions, particularly educational ones, unemployment figures in a particular industry can affect the prospects for citizens choosing appropriate educational programs.

Having considered what unemployment is, the causes, types, and consequences of this phenomenon, we summarize our small study, visualizing its key aspects. Let's use a tabular format. If we need to look again at the main types of unemployment - the table below, as well as the signs that characterize them, and the reasons that determine the occurrence of the corresponding phenomena.

	Signs
Natural	In society there is a certain, usually small, percentage of unemployed citizens, determined by the market laws of supply and demand in the labor market. In general, the situation on the country's labor market is stable.	Enterprises, developing and changing, may periodically hire or reduce staff.
Friction	In the methodology of many experts, it is a type of natural unemployment. There is high volatility in unemployment indicators for certain industries, and less often for the national economy.	An ineffective employment system does not allow enterprises to quickly find the necessary specialists, and job seekers from finding an optimal place to work. Administrative difficulties associated with applicants moving from one city to another. Macroeconomic trends that determine changes in citizens’ priorities regarding work in certain industries.
Structural	Imbalance of supply and demand in the labor market in different industries.	Development of technologies, modernization of production, requiring the attraction of new personnel with different qualifications. Disadvantages in the national education system.
Cyclic	People cannot find work because there are few vacancies.	Crisis trends at the level of the national economy.

The table does not include voluntary and hidden types of unemployment, since there are significant differences among experts in terms of criteria for classifying these phenomena.

In an ideal model of economic development, production increases steadily and the price level is stable (or changes slightly). All resources are used fully and functionally. There is no unemployment and inflation. However, in real life, the economy periodically goes through phases of boom and bust. There is unemployment at all phases of the economic cycle.

Unemployment- this is a socio-economic phenomenon that consists in the fact that a certain part of the working-age population does not find a job. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), an unemployed person is a person who wants to work, can work, but does not have a job.

Modern economic science is based on the fact that in any country it is impossible to ensure absolute employment of the population. Under employment refers to the socially useful activities of people related to the satisfaction of personal and social needs and, as a rule, bringing them earnings (income). The employed include the economically active part of the population.

In Western countries, according to UN recommendations, the economically active population includes not only actually employed people, but also unemployed people looking for paid work. The term “economically active population” in Western countries is not strictly defined statistically. In domestic statistics, the economically active population includes:

1) the entire working-age population of working age, minus out-of-work students, those serving in the armed forces, and those employed in the household;

2) persons who are beyond working age, but employed in the economy;

3) persons employed in personal subsidiary plots.

There are a number of factors that do not allow the entire working-age population to be employed. Therefore, absolute employment appears only as a trend.

Causes of unemployment varied.

Firstly, the current level of development of productive forces is such that many industries are seasonal: agriculture, construction, etc. This leads to a corresponding decline in production in the off-season period and a reduction in employment in these industries.

Secondly, structural changes in the economy, expressed in the fact that the introduction of new technologies and equipment leads to a reduction in production needs for labor.

Thirdly, an economic recession or depression, which forces the employer to reduce the need for all resources, including labor.

Fourthly, absolute employment is impossible due to the unbalanced development of individual enterprises and industries. In this regard, the market economy is developing unevenly, which leads to disproportions between the number of people wanting to get a job and the availability of the corresponding number of jobs.

Fifthly, in any country there is a certain part of the population that, for one reason or another, voluntarily quits a given enterprise and looks for work at other enterprises in other regions.

Finally, in any country there is always a certain proportion of people of working age who do not want to work.

In this regard, modern economists believe that absolute employment is impossible, but a normally functioning market economy can provide full effective employment.

Full employment means not universal employment, but such employment in which the supply of labor is covered by the demand for it, that is, anyone who wants to work and knows how to work can get such an opportunity. In this case, the proportion between the demand for labor and its supply is determined by the market.

Types of unemployment:

1) Frictional unemployment. It always exists and is associated with searching for a job or waiting for it. A certain number of people voluntarily stay “between jobs,” i.e. employees left their jobs for some reason and are looking for work at other enterprises for some time. This type of unemployment exists constantly. Typically, frictional unemployment affects 2-3% of the workforce.

2) Structural unemployment, the main feature of which is its long-lasting nature. With structural unemployment, the demand for labor and its supply do not coincide, since the structure of the labor force does not correspond to the structure of jobs. Scientific and technological progress leads to structural changes in production and a decrease in demand for a number of professions, for example, miners, etc. At the same time, new industries and activities are emerging that lack workers in new professions, for example, programmers. In connection with changes in the structure of production, there is a need to retrain the unemployed in order to acquire new professions and qualifications.

A type of structural unemployment is technological unemployment, which is formed as a result of the replacement of people by machines. Technological unemployment is characterized by processes of pushing and pulling workers, but in other areas, industries and enterprises, and workers of other professions and qualifications.

Thus, structural unemployment is as inevitable as frictional unemployment. It also always exists in society.

Economists view frictional and structural unemployment as inevitable. Therefore, full employment of the population occurs when only these types of unemployment exist in the country. At full employment, slightly less than 100% of the workforce is employed in manufacturing. The unemployment rate at full employment in the presence of frictional and structural unemployment is called natural rate of unemployment.

The natural rate of unemployment is not constant. The natural rate of unemployment at full employment in different countries ranges from 4-8%

At full employment, the unemployment rate is determined by the formula:

Unemployment rate =(17)

The natural rate of unemployment is subject to change due to the following reasons:

Changing demographic composition of the workforce. Thus, after the Second World War, the proportion of women and youth in the labor force increased significantly;

The expansion of the unemployment assistance program led to an increase in the number of people receiving benefits, and the size of the benefit itself was also increased. In this regard, the time spent searching for work and, consequently, unemployment has increased.

3) Cyclical unemployment- This is unemployment associated with the cyclical nature of the development of a market economy. It is caused by cyclical declines in production. This is the most widespread and painful type of unemployment. If there is no cyclical unemployment, then, as we noted, employment is considered full. In addition to these types of unemployment, there are also hidden and stagnant types of unemployment.

4) Hidden unemployment includes seasonal unemployment, which arises due to the seasonal nature of work in a number of sectors of the economy: construction, agriculture, recreation and tourism. The hidden form of unemployment can also include people working part-time or part-time. These are the so-called semi-unemployed.

5) Stagnant unemployment. This includes people who are not looking for a job because they lost it a long time ago, became unqualified and have lost hope of getting it. Their statistics do not take into account and exclude them from the number of unemployed.

It should be noted that the presence of free labor in the labor market is a necessary condition for the development of national economies based on market principles. To a certain extent, according to modern Western economists, moderate unemployment is even good for economic growth, since:

Firstly, unemployment is a reserve of unemployed labor that can be used when economic conditions change;

Secondly, unemployment reduces the intensity of the struggle of trade unions for wage growth and strengthens incentives for entrepreneurship;

Thirdly, fear of unemployment can be an effective means of increasing work discipline.

But, on the other hand, unemployment entails significant economic and social losses for society.

The presence of unemployment leads to significant and irrevocable economic losses for society. If the economy is unable to create enough jobs, then the actual level of GDP produced will be less than its potential level.

Potential GDP level- this is the maximum volume of production with the full use of all resources. Potential GDP increases as the number of workers increases and labor productivity increases. The potential level of GDP is determined from the assumption that actual unemployment is equal to its natural level. But the higher the actual unemployment rate, the lower the GDP. Unemployment leads to loss of resources. Goods and services that could have been produced are irretrievably, forever lost. More production created later is not able to compensate for these losses.

In this regard, it should be noted that, in accordance with Okun's law, economic losses are calculated as a 2.5% shortfall in GDP as a result of an increase in unemployment by 1% above its natural level. This allows us to calculate the absolute loss of production associated with unemployment.

Unemployment leads to a decrease in the standard of living of the worker and his family. It puts pressure on workers who have jobs (deterioration of employment conditions, working conditions, wages).

Unemployment leads to a loss of worker qualifications, and, therefore, a loss of hope of ever getting a job.

The higher the unemployment rate, the more funds are allocated to unemployment benefits and less funds are left for social needs (schools, hospitals, etc.).

Unemployment primarily affects older people and young workers. The former cannot work like the young ones, and the young ones do not have the qualifications like the old workers.

The socio-psychological costs of unemployment are very high. Job loss cannot be compensated for by any benefits. Due to the loss of a job, destructive processes occur in the employee’s mind, such as loss of face, loss of self-respect, inferiority complex, etc. Therefore, with increasing unemployment, mental and nervous diseases increase, family breakdown occurs, the number of suicides increases, crime, drug addiction, and alcoholism increase.

Awareness of the consequences of unemployment determines the need to exercise government influence on the labor market.

In developed countries, a fairly advanced mechanism of state regulation in the field of employment has been created. The state’s influence on the employment sector is in the following areas:

Development of programs to stimulate employment growth and increase the number of jobs, primarily in the public sector of the economy;

Creation of programs aimed at training and retraining the workforce and, above all, youth;

Implementation of labor recruitment assistance programs;

Development of programs to promote entrepreneurship;

Drawing up programs for social insurance of unemployment, i.e. allocation of funds for unemployment benefits.

In the UK, for example, the youth training program provides two years of vocational training for sixteen-year-old school leavers and one year of training for seventeen-year-old school leavers. Students are paid a stipend. The country has a system of rewarding those employers who provide full-time jobs for young people. Such entrepreneurs are paid special subsidies for a year for each 17-18-year-old young person hired.

Unemployment assistance in the West it is carried out in the following forms:

1) unemployment benefits,

2) unemployment assistance.

3) the state allocates small funds to the unemployed and his family and pays for some utilities. This assistance is less than unemployment compensation or unemployment assistance, but it is awarded without a time limit.

2. Inflation and its socio-economic consequences

The word inflation in Latin means “bloating.” As a phenomenon of economic life, inflation has existed for a long time. Some economists believe that it arose with the advent of money.

Inflation- this is the process of depreciation of money, which manifests itself in an increase in prices for goods and services, not due to an increase in their quality. Inflation is caused primarily by the overflow of monetary circulation channels with excess money supply without taking into account the needs of trade turnover.

The causes of inflation are divided into internal and external. Internal reasons include:

State budget deficit associated with increased government spending;

High level of unproductive government spending, especially military;

Disproportions at the level of micro- and macroeconomics, which are a manifestation of the cyclical nature of economic development;

Mistakes in the government's economic policy and others.

External causes of inflation are:

Structural global crises (raw materials, energy, food, etc.), which are accompanied by multiple increases in prices for raw materials, oil, food, etc. This growth became the reason for a sharp increase in prices for monopolies for their products;

The exchange of national currency by banks for foreign currency causes the need for additional issue of paper money, which overwhelms the channels of monetary circulation and leads to inflation.

Western economists, considering the causes of inflation, talk about two types of inflation:

1) Demand inflation, which assumes that the population has excess money. In this regard, the balance between supply and demand is disrupted, and this disruption comes from the demand side. Demand inflation occurs when the monetary incomes of the population and enterprises grow faster than the real volume of production grows.

2) Supply inflation, in which the imbalance occurs on the supply side. In this case, the cause of inflation is an increase in monetary expenses (costs) borne by firms producing goods and services.

J.M. Keynes, explaining the causes of supply inflation, wrote that the price depends on the ratio of wage growth and labor productivity:

where P – price;

W- wages;

K is the share of wages in costs.

As long as wage growth lags behind or matches productivity growth, there is no inflation. When the increase in wages exceeds the increase in labor productivity, then inflationary processes develop.

However, rising wages do not necessarily lead to rising prices. Its increase leads to a decrease in profits while maintaining the same price level. Entrepreneurs, forced by trade unions to raise wages, try to compensate for losses by rising prices.

Finally, the cause of rising cost-push inflation may occur due to rising prices for inputs.

This inflation can be overcome by increasing productivity, introducing new technology, limiting the growth of wages, profits and prices, reducing interest rates, using subsidies and competition.

Based on the nature of their manifestation, the following types of inflation are distinguished:

1) Suppressed inflation. It is inherent in an economy with administration, prices and income. It is called suppressed because the state, establishing control over prices and incomes, does not allow the open manifestation of inflation in the only form available to it - in the growth of money prices. In this case, inflation takes on an “underground” character.

Externally, prices are not rising and are stable, but since the amount of money in the country is growing, its excess is transformed into a commodity deficit. Constant queues appear, and sellers begin to speculate on scarce goods. A “black market” arises (an illegal form of inflation in conditions of its suppression).

2) Open inflation. It is typical for countries with a market economy, where the free interaction of supply and demand leads to an open, unconstrained rise in prices as a result of a fall in the purchasing power of money. Open inflation, of course, distorts market processes, but nevertheless retains the role of prices as signals showing producers and buyers areas of profitable investment of capital.

In terms of inflation growth rates, there are three types of inflation:

1) Moderate, or creeping inflation, when prices rise slowly, less than 10% per year. In this case, the value of money is practically preserved. There is no risk of entering into contracts for the future.

2) Galloping inflation. In this case, price increases are measured in hundreds of percent per year. Money depreciates sharply. It becomes unprofitable to enter into contractual transactions. Everyone strives to quickly turn money into goods.

3) Hyperinflation. With it, prices are rising at an astronomical rate. The discrepancy between prices and wages is becoming catastrophic. This means that the situation is out of control.

In addition, there are:

- expected inflation, i.e. predictable, predictable inflation;

- unexpected inflation, this is unpredictable and unpredictable inflation;

- balanced inflation, when prices for different goods change at the same rate, i.e. the ratio between different prices remains unchanged;

- unbalanced inflation, in which the prices of different goods grow at different rates, so the relationship between the prices of different goods is constantly changing.

In order to determine what level of inflation exists in a country, it is necessary to compare the prices of one period with the prices of another. The set of goods and services selected for analyzing price increases is consumer basket. The more products and services we place in the cart, the more accurate the results will be. Having determined the basket set, we can calculate the consumer price index:

where I p is the consumer price index,

P 0 - prices in the base period,

P 1 - prices of a given (current) period.

The price index for industrial products, the gross domestic product index, etc. are calculated similarly.

In order to quantify inflation, you can apply the “rule of 70”:

For example, if annual inflation is 8%, then 70:8 = 9 years, i.e. in nine years, annual inflation will double.

With moderate (creeping) inflation, when prices increase by no more than 10% per year, there is even a temporary revival of economic conditions. Low inflation rates contribute to rising prices and profit margins. Keynes and his followers even view such inflation as a boon for economic development.

However, it is not always possible to keep inflation at this level, and as it deepens, it turns into galloping, which disorganizes the economy, causes serious damage to the economy, including monopolies and oligopolies, and complicates the implementation of economic policy.

Galloping inflation increases disproportions between sectors of the economy, aggravates the problem of selling products on the domestic market, aggravates the hunger for goods and undermines incentives for accumulation. With galloping inflation, banks and other lending institutions that provide credit increase the cost of lending terms and reduce the volume of loans, and this leads to disruption of the functioning of the monetary system.

Galloping inflation worsens the situation of the working masses and depreciates savings, leading to a reduction in the previous volumes of funding for state social programs.

With hyperinflation, prices increase monthly by at least 50%, which means they increase by at least 129-130 times during the year. In such conditions, no one wants to keep cash in their wallet or on demand deposit at the bank. After selling a product, the entrepreneur seeks to immediately turn his income into any type of real assets - raw materials, spare parts, etc. When the purchasing power of money falls at such a rate, money loses its most important qualities that make it a highly liquid asset. Thus, hyperinflation leads to the destruction of the country's monetary system.

By undermining money circulation, credit and the banking system, hyperinflation has a destructive effect on industry and other sectors of the economy. Under these conditions, monetary capital seeks to be converted into a stable, freely convertible currency, or it flees abroad.

The negative socio-economic consequences of inflation force the governments of various countries to carry out certain anti-inflationary policy. Two problems arise in this regard. How should we deal with inflation, eliminate it, as in the USA and Great Britain, for example, through radical measures, or adapt to it, as in other countries?

Within first approach(modern Keynesians) provides for an active fiscal policy, which involves maneuvering government spending and taxes in order to influence effective demand. With inflationary (excess) demand, the government limits its spending and increases taxes. This leads to a reduction in demand and a decrease in inflation rates. However, such measures lead to a reduction in production growth, to stagnation and even crisis phenomena in the economy and increased unemployment.

If demand is insufficient in conditions of a decline in production, then the state, through the state budget, implements programs of public investment and other expenditures, and lowers taxes. Low taxes are established primarily on average and low incomes, which usually quickly realize the benefits. This is believed to increase demand for consumer goods and services. However, as the experience of many countries in the 60-70s of the 20th century showed, stimulating demand with budgetary funds can increase inflation.

Second approach involves, first of all, an impact on the economy (monetarism). This type of regulation is carried out by the Central Bank (CB) of the country, which is not formally controlled by the government. The Central Bank changes the amount of money in circulation and interest rates. These measures have a short-term impact on the economy.

Such measures should limit effective demand, since the policy of stimulating economic growth and artificially maintaining employment by reducing the natural rate of unemployment leads to a loss of control over inflation.