Employmentweb_low

employment relations and health inequalities: a conceptual and empirical overvieW
according to a consensus definition, an unemployed person is a person
above a specified age who during a reference period was without work and
who is currently available for work and seeking work. In other words,
unemployment figures demonstrate how many people are both not
working for pay but also seeking employment for pay. Therefore, it is only
indirectly connected with the number of people who are actually not
working at all or working without pay. This definition is a problem because
it excludes those who are without paid employment because none is
available or because they cannot actively search for it.
It leaves out many workers in the poor world who, having
no regular jobs or income, still work and do not fall within the
unemployed category. It also excludes large numbers of
people who would like to work but are prevented from even
looking, such as those with long-term illness who could work
if working conditions were better, and parents (most often
mothers) who could work if child care services were
adequate. also, this definition does not count the population
incarcerated in prisons, those who are self-employed in the
informal economy, involuntary early retirees, and those who interview with a job-seeker. Employment center in
work for payment for as little as one hour per week or slightly murmansk (russian Federation).
more but would like a full-time permanent job ("involuntary source: © ilo /m. crozet (2006)
part-time" workers) (IlO, 1982). Given the shortcomings of the consensus
definition of unemployment, it is critical to remember those who are not
counted as we turn now to the global situation.
Worldwide, unemployment remained at an historical high in 2006
despite strong global economic growth. Growth failed to reduce global
unemployment and, even with strong global economic growth in 2007,
there was serious concern about the prospects for fair job creation
and reducing working poverty further. These concerns have only
grown more serious since the economic crisis that began in 2008.
This is not to imply that the mere economic process of growth is
benefitial for workers. research has also shown that when the
economy expands and unemployment drops, health inequalities may
increase (see Case study 17).
In 2007 there were about 190 million people unemployed globally,
a slightly higher figure than the year before. This represented 6 per
cent of the world's population. Overall, employment increased by
about 5 million in 2008, leading to a slight increase of the
unemployment rate to 6.1 per cent in 2008 (IlO, 2009). In many nonindustrialised
countries, estimates of unemployment are around 30
per cent, while in developed countries, unemployment is often
around 4-12 per cent. We break down global unemployment first by
demography and then by geography (IlO, 2006; 2007a).
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