Base unemployment

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Base unemployment is the proportion of unemployment that would persist even if the economy recovered completely. In order to determine them, one assumes full utilization of economic capacities . The term was introduced when economic growth in the Federal Republic of Germany stagnated due to the 1973/74 oil crisis .

By definition, base unemployment can not be reduced with economic policy measures. In this respect, it is almost identical to the natural unemployment described by the monetarists , which, however, also includes so-called frictional unemployment .

While basic unemployment in Germany has so far increased with every recession , the 2009 annual economic report (p. 17) recorded that in 2008 it was significantly below the level of the previous upswing for the first time since the 1970s.

Basic unemployment arises z. B. by unemployed people who can no longer find a job because they are relatively close to retirement age or cannot be placed because of health problems; furthermore by the fact that not every unemployed person is ready to take up any job or that not every job seeker is qualified for every job.

In Switzerland, basic unemployment is defined differently in parts. After a certain period of time , those who either cannot find a job or are not ready to take on a job that does not match their qualifications will drop out of unemployment insurance . These people, if they have no assets and no solvent close relatives, can turn to welfare , but the pressure remains to find a job. The longer the job vacancy lasts, the more difficult it becomes to be employable on the labor market. The public sector is trying to counteract this situation with qualification measures. From the Second World War up to the 1970s, Switzerland succeeded in achieving almost full employment without basic unemployment during periods of boom. However, with the subsequent computerization of production technology and the associated automation boost and, at the same time, increasing pressure from immigration, the labor market was no longer able to absorb the entire labor supply; Here too - despite efforts to gain qualifications - basic unemployment arose.

literature

  • Switzerland: DC Aeppli et al .: The situation of the excluded in Northwestern Switzerland , 1996