The Labour Force

1. The Labour Force

2. The Labour Force
•The labour force refers to all persons between
the ages of 16 and 65 years who are willing and
able to work.
•Some people may fall between the age specified
above but not be able to work because of:
c.illness or mental instability
d.lack of skills
e.No desire to seek employment
f.imprisonment.

3. Employment
•A person is said to be employed if he/she holds a
job or position for which a salary or wage is
received.
•Employment is seen as desirable for the following
reasons:
c.To provide basic needs for yourself and family
d.To provide for the future (retirement)
e.To maintain or improve one’s standard of living
f.To maintain independence and not have to rely
on others

4. Unemployment
•This is a situation where a person is in the labour
force but has not yet found a job.
•Some effects of this are:
c.Reduced buying power
d.Basic needs may not be met
e.A decline in the standard of living
f.Loss of wealth and property due to inability to
service loans
g.Social burden on the government
h.Increased levels of crime and violence
i.Reduced productivity of the country

5. Dealing With Unemployment
There are various ways by which this can be
addressed:
b.Create incentives for local and foreign
investors so jobs can be created.
c.Provide appropriate and relevant training
d.Provide early retirement plans
e.Develop agriculture based industries
f.Inject capital into labour intensive projects

6. Underemployment and Over
employment
•This situation exists when persons occupy jobs
for which they are overqualified for example
an engineer working as a cashier at a drug
store. His skills are therefore not being fully
utilized.
•Over employment occurs when persons do
not have the suitable qualifications for the jos
that they do.

7. Types of Unemployment

8. Seasonal Unemployment
•Seasonal employment refers to occupations
that can be performed only during certain
periods of the year, and does not include such
occupations that may be carried on
throughout the entire year

9. Structural Unemployment
•Structural unemployment takes place in
response to a structural change in an industry.
•An industry can shift from a labour-intensive
technology to a capital intensive one.
•Structural unemployment may also be due to
a change in the tastes and preferences of the
consumers.

10. Technical Unemployment
•This is due to the introduction of automation
as machines replace the need for manual
labour.
Frictional Unemployment
•This results from people being unable to fill
vacancies which exist because they may be
unaware or unable to accept jobs because of
distance from their homes.
•It also exists when someone leaves one job for
another.

11. Voluntary
•Some people choose not to work and depend
on the state to provide for them through
grants.
•This may be as a result of improved social
services of the country.

12. Causes of Unemployment
•The number of people entering the labour
force exceeds the jobs available.
•Manual labour is being replaced by machines
which are more efficient.
•Most Caribbean countries lack a large variety
of physical resources which makes it difficult
to create jobs in the manufacturing sector.
•Many people lack the proper skills and
training to gain employment.