cyclical unemployment
(noun)
A type of unemployment explained by the demand for labor going up and down with the business cycle.
Examples of cyclical unemployment in the following topics:
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Types of Unemployment: Frictional, Structural, Cyclical
- Structural unemployment is one of the main types of unemployment within an economic system.
- It is often impacted by persistent cyclical unemployment.
- Frictional unemployment is another type of unemployment within an economy.
- Cyclical unemployment is a type of unemployment that occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work.
- With cyclical unemployment the number of unemployed workers is greater that the number of job vacancies.
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Reasons for Unemployment
- There are three reasons for unemployment which are categorizes as frictional, structural, and cyclical unemployment.
- There are four types of unemployment.
- There is always at least some frictional unemployment in an economy, so the level of involuntary unemployment is properly the unemployment rate minus the rate of frictional unemployment.
- During periods in the business cycle when the economy is producing below its long-run, optimum level, firms demand fewer workers and the result is cyclical unemployment.
- The short-term fluctuations in the graph are the result of cyclical unemployment that changes when economic activity is above or below its long-term potential.
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Defining Full Employment
- Full employment is defined as an acceptable level of unemployment somewhere above 0%; there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment.
- In macroeconomics, full employment is the level of employment rates where there is no cyclical or deficient-demand unemployment.
- Ideal unemployment excludes types of unemployment where labor-market inefficiency is reflected.
- The full employment unemployment rate is also referred to as "natural" unemployment.
- Full employment is defined as "ideal" unemployment.
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Measuring the Unemployment Rate
- Cyclical unemployment: occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work.
- The unemployment rate is measured using two different labor force surveys.
- The survey measures the unemployment rate based on the ILO definition.
- The unemployment rate is updated on a monthly basis.
- They calculate different aspects of unemployment.
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Typical Lengths of Unemployment
- Long-term unemployment lasts 27 or more weeks.
- Generally, unemployment is high during recessions.
- Cyclical: occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work.
- Short-term unemployment is considered any unemployment period that lasts less than 27 weeks.
- Long-term unemployment is classified as unemployment that lasts for 27 weeks or longer.
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Defining Unemployment
- Cyclical: occurs when there is not enough aggregate demand in the economy to provide jobs for everyone who wants to work.
- It differs from frictional unemployment because it lasts longer.
- Hidden: the unemployment of potential workers that is not taken into account in official unemployment statistics because of how the data is collected.
- The final measurement is called the rate of unemployment .
- The effects of unemployment can be broken down into three types:
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Effect of a Government Budget Deficit on Investment and Equilibrium
- A cyclical deficit is a deficit incurred due to the ups and downs of a business cycle.
- At the lowest point in the business cycle, there is a high level of unemployment.
- Conversely, at the peak of the cycle, unemployment is low, increasing tax revenue and decreasing spending, which leads to a budget surplus.
- The additional borrowing required at the low point of the cycle is the cyclical deficit.
- By definition, the cyclical deficit will be entirely repaid by a cyclical surplus at the peak of the cycle.
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Keynesian Theory
- This wasted capital can result in market losses, unemployment, and market inefficiency (this was called 'general glut' in the classical model, when aggregate demand does not meet supply).
- Unemployment:Under the classical model, unemployment is often attributed to high and rigid real wages.
- Fiscal Policy:The key concept in fiscal policy for Keynes is 'counter-cyclical' fiscal policy, which is the expectation that governments can reduce the negative effects of the natural business cycle.
- Consider the unemployment and excessive savings problems, and how they stand to lead to spiraling decline.
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Shortcomings of the Measurement
- Unemployment is measured in order to determine the unemployment rate.
- In order to find the rate of unemployment, four methods are used:
- Calculates unemployment by different categories such as race and gender.
- This method is the least effective for measuring unemployment.
- The unemployment rate is the percentage of unemployment calculated by dividing the number of unemployed individuals by the number of individuals currently employed in the labor force.
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The Short-Run Phillips Curve
- The Phillips curve depicts the relationship between inflation and unemployment rates.
- As unemployment rates increase, inflation decreases; as unemployment rates decrease, inflation increases.
- When the unemployment rate is 2%, the corresponding inflation rate is 10%.
- As unemployment decreases to 1%, the inflation rate increases to 15%.
- As output increases, unemployment decreases.