The LG 91225 Analysing Unemployment Learning Guide is a structured, write-on student resource specifically designed for the NCEA Level 2 Economics Achievement Standard: Analyse unemployment using economic models. This guide provides a step-by-step approach to understanding how the labor market functions, how unemployment is quantified in New Zealand, and the significant consequences it has for individuals and the broader economy.
Key Features
Defining the Labour Force: Clear explanations of the categories used by Stats NZ. Students learn to distinguish between the Working-Age Population, the Labour Force (those employed or actively seeking work), and those Not in the Labour Force (students, retirees, or discouraged seekers).
Measuring Unemployment: A practical guide to the Household Labour Force Survey (HLFS).
The Unemployment Rate: Learning the formula to calculate the percentage of the labor force that is out of work.
The Participation Rate: Understanding how many people are choosing to engage with the labor market.
Underemployment: Exploring the concept of people who have jobs but want more hours than are available.
The Labour Market Model: Extensive practice in drawing and shifting the Supply and Demand for Labour graph.
Demand for Labour (DL): Understanding that firms "demand" workers, and this demand is "derived" from the demand for the goods and services those workers produce.
Supply of Labour (SL): Analyzing how households "supply" their time and skills based on the wage rate and non-monetary factors.
Types and Causes of Unemployment:
Cyclical: Linked to the business cycle. Using the AD/AS Model to show how a fall in Aggregate Demand leads to lower Real GDP and less demand for workers.
Structural: Investigating the "mismatch" between worker skills and employer needs, often caused by technological change or industry decline.
Frictional: The natural unemployment that occurs when people are between jobs or entering the workforce for the first time.
Impacts of Unemployment: A balanced evaluation of the "costs" of joblessness:
Personal Costs: Loss of income, decline in mental and physical health, and the "hysteresis effect" where long-term unemployment leads to a permanent loss of skills.
Social Costs: Potential increases in crime, social inequity, and the strain on community resources.
Economic Costs: The "output gap"—the difference between what the economy could produce at full employment versus what it is actually producing.
Government Costs: Increased spending on the Jobseeker Support benefit and decreased revenue from PAYE income tax.
Government Policy Responses: Explores how the government attempts to reach "full employment." This includes Expansionary Fiscal Policy to boost demand, as well as supply-side policies like job training schemes, education subsidies, and employment law changes.
NCEA-Style Practice Tasks: Includes scaffolded "Achievement," "Merit," and "Excellence" questions that mirror external exam formats. These tasks emphasize the ability to link a specific economic event (like a minimum wage increase or a technological breakthrough) to changes in the labor market model.
Step-by-Step Worked Examples: Provides clear templates for structuring a written analysis, ensuring students can move from "identifying" a shift to "comprehensively justifying" its impact.
Glossary of Terms: A comprehensive list of essential labor market vocabulary—such as Real Wage Unemployment, Voluntary vs. Involuntary Unemployment, and Equilibrium Wage—to ensure technical accuracy.