8 million economically inactive – Unemployment definition

A common mistake I noticed whilst marking GCSE papers this summer, involved students writing that an unemployed person is someone who has not got a job. I will use this article in an unemployment lesson to show that to be unemployed you must be willing and able to find a job, but currently out of work. The article shows that 7.9 million (one in five of working age) people in the UK are out of work and are not trying to find a job. They are considered to be economically inactive.

Another article which would be very useful for an unemployment lesson clearly explains the difference between the two main measures of unemployment, the Claimant Count and the ILO survey.

Click read more for some questions on unemployment

1. Explain why the ILO survey normally shows unemployment to be higher than the claimant count (4 marks)
2. Define unemployment (2 marks)
3. Explain two types of unemployment (4 marks)
4. For the two types of unemployment explained in question 3, discuss possible ways of reducing the level of unemployment (6 marks)