Recall: Another economic goal of Canada is full employment

Labour Force Survey Every month, Stats Canada keeps takes a monthly

survey of 53 000 households (labour force population) and keeps track of the workforce

Labour Force: all people who either have a job or are actively seeking employment

Participation Rate: the percentage of the entire labour force population that makes up the labour force

9.2 Unemployment

Unemployment Rate: number of unemployed people in the labour force as a percentage of the entire labour force

In 2010, Canada’s labour force was 18.5251 million people 17.041 million people employed & 1.4841 million not

employed Thus, unemployment rate was 8.0%

The Official Unemployment Rate

Unemployment rate calculation leaves room for error What about factors such as:

Underemployment Workers being underutilized, either as part-time workers,

or by working at jobs not appropriate to their skills or education

Discouraged workers Unemployed workers who have given up looking for work

Dishonesty People responding to a Stats Can survey may report they

are actively looking for work when in fact they are not

Drawbacks of the Official Unemployment Rate

Frictional Unemployment: unemployment due to being temporarily between jobs or looking for a first job

Structural Unemployment: unemployment due to a mismatch between people and jobs

Cyclical Unemployment: unemployment due to fluctuations in output and spending

Seasonal Unemployment: unemployment due to the seasonal nature of some occupations and industries

Types of Unemployment

Full Employment is the highest reasonable expectation of employment for the economy as a whole Defined in terms of a natural unemployment rate

Unemployment Insurance: assistance received during periods of unemployment (after having worked)

Minimum Wages: minimum wage has increased a great deal in the past few decades Stats Canada found: a 10% increase in minimum wage

reduced the unemployment rate of male teens by 1% and 2.7% for female teens

Full Employment