Human Resources

What is the labour force?

1. The labour force is everyone 15 years of age and older who are working or is considered to be seeking employment.

2. People who are self-employed are part of the labour force.

3. People who collect unemployment benefits (U.I.C.) are part of the labour force as they are considered to be seeking employment.

4. People on strike, sick leave, maternity leave or vacation are also part of the labour force.

Who are not considered part of the labour force? People who are not considered to be part of

the labour force are those who are: a) less than 15 years of age

b) retired;c) in the air forcesd) full time studentse) homemakersf) volunteer worksg) living on Indian reserves or in the territoriesh) welfare recipients

Labor Statistics

Employment Groups by Age

Unemployment Rates by Province

Regional Population

Wages

Education

Job Market Outlook

What is unemployment? The unemployed are those who are without

work but who are considered to be actively seeking work.

What is the unemployment rate? The unemployment rate is the percentage

of the labour force that is unemployed. For example there are 10 million people in the labour force and there are one million unemployed people, the unemployment rate is 10 percent.Unemployment rate=1 million/10 million * 100 = 10%

What is the participation rate? The participation rate is the percentage of

the population 15 years of age and over that is in the labour force.Participation rate = 10 million / 15 million * 100 = 66.6%

What are the different types of unemployment? There are four types of unemployment:

a) seasonal unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to seasonal conditions (ski hill operators)

b) structural unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to new technology (robots replacing assembly line workers)

c) cyclical unemployment, which is the loss of jobs due to a recession or depression;

d) frictional unemployment, which is the loss of a job temporarily due to the time it takes to get a new job

What can be done to combat unemployment?

Government use several measures to combat unemployment:

a) giving subsidies to businesses;

b) educating and retraining workers

c) spending on public works

d) giving equalization payments to regions with high unemployment.

What influences the cost of labour?

a) the supply and demand of labour

b) the levels of education, training, skill, experience and responsibility of workers;

c) gender; women are often paid less than men, but this is slowly changing;

d) unionization; union members tend to receive better salaries and benefits than workers who are not unionized

e) governments; which can maintain or improve salaries and benefits through legislation (minimum wage);

f) the geographic isolation, danger or unpleasantness of a job can increase wages.