Q.What are the different types of unemployment?

Unemployment exists in several forms — structural, frictional, cyclical, seasonal, disguised, open and educated unemployment — each with a different cause; in India, disguised and seasonal unemployment are mainly rural, while open and educated unemployment are mainly urban.

This is a 5-mark human-resources question in the AP Intermediate 2nd-year Economics course.

Types of unemployment

1. Structural unemployment — arises when the structure of the economy changes and labour's skills no longer match the available jobs.

2. Frictional unemployment — the short-term unemployment while people move between jobs or search for their first job.

3. Cyclical unemployment — caused by a downturn or depression in the economy when demand and production fall.

4. Seasonal unemployment — people are without work during particular seasons, common in agriculture and agro-based industries.

5. Disguised unemployment — more people are engaged in a job than are actually needed, so their marginal contribution to output is almost nil; very common in Indian agriculture.

6. Open unemployment — workers are completely without work and visibly idle, common among urban job-seekers.

7. Educated unemployment — educated and qualified persons who cannot find jobs suited to their qualifications.

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