Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 21 Issue 4

there is also no reliable data to support any definition of total employment in Nigeria. Unemployment is in two ways: The first way is to view it as a welfare loss to society of total output foregone. The other way is in terms of the "welfare burden" borne by the individuals affected by unemployment. To the individual, it creates a sense of lack of personal fulfilment. It is essential to reduce frictional unemployment, if a high level of employment is required by directing policies specifically to minimised institutional rigidities in the labour market that are likely to be very considerable. There are several reasons for the existence of frictional unemployment. A significant source of frictional unemployment is associated with geographical factors. The location of job vacancies is different from the location of unemployed persons. Some other factors such as lack of knowledge about job vacancies, cost of movement, language barrier, and cultural, political, and religious features are significant unemployment sources. Structural factors may significantly affect the level of frictional unemployment. These may be due to the rapid change in skill requirements for existing vacancies and the length of time required to train and upgrade workers for specific jobs. a) Types of Unemployment Economists have generally used several theories to explain the phenomenon of 'unemployment in an economy. They include seasonal, frictional, structural, and cyclical (insufficient aggregate demand) unemployment. The review will better understand the various types of unemployment and their implications for Nigeria's economic growth and development. i. Seasonal Unemployment: Occurs as a result of seasonal fluctuations in occupations. Elrenberg and Smith (1982) observed that agricultural workers' demand declines after the planting season and remains low until the harvesting season. Similarly, the request for construction workers falls during the rainy season and peaks up during the dry season. This type of unemployment occurs when some workers vary widely over the year. Hence, seasonal unemployment can be considered as a form of structural unemployment, mainly because seasonal employees' skills are not in demand in a particular labour market for at least some part of the year. Seasonal unemployment is less problematic than chronic structural unemployment because seasonal skills demand has not gone forever and resurfaces reasonably. Seasonal Unemployment is a situation where people were laid off at one time following the job's climatic nature. For instance, agricultural workers in Nigeria are not in demand during the planting season. ii. Frictional Unemployment: Occurs when workers spend time searching for new jobs. For example, a worker in Port Harcourt may leave his present work and go to Lagos with the expectation of getting a higher-paid job. During this period, without a job, he is categorised by labour economists as a frictionally unemployed person. Several factors are said to responsible for frictional unemployment. One such factor is the imperfect flow of information in the labour market due to labour markets not being dynamic, as the neo-classical economists contended. Second, it usually takes a long time for unemployed workers to get in touch with potential employers with available job openings. Even though the size of the labour market is constant, there are always new entrants into the labour market at every point. Some of these workers may be searching for employment, while other employed or underemployed individuals will be leaving the labour force. Therefore, one can say that the level of frictional unemployment in any country is the flowing in and out of individuals in the labour market and the speed with which these unemployed individuals search for and secure jobs (Gbosi, 1997). Unemployment occurs because it takes workers sometimes to move from one job to another, and workers are supposed to look around for a good and fit for them, which takes some time. During this time, the individual is considered unemployed. However, unemployment due to frictional unemployment is thought to last only short periods and not be specifically problematic from an economic standpoint, particularly true now that technology helps workers and companies search for jobs more efficiently. Frictional unemployment occurs as people are temporarily out of work within the period of changing jobs. This type of unemployment is unavoidable in an economy in which both the labour force and the jobs offered are continually changing. iii. Structural Unemployment: This kind of unemployment exists when an economy is in total employment, and there are some structural changes in the economy. Such changes take the form of decreased demand for specific skills or a change in technology in a definite industry. Some structurally unemployed workers do not have jobs because the industry they would have liked to work in may decrease output. These declining industries, therefore, have a falling demand for labour. It may also occur due to movement in the natural employment rate itself, as changes in labour market institutions, demographic shifts, etcetera, which is caused by economic variables, such as the level of aggregate demand and that of actual and expected real wage rate. Solomon (1980) stated that structural unemployment might occur when individuals look for jobs in a particular location with no industry that utilise Volume XXI Issue IV Version I 59 ( E ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2021 © 2021 Global Journals Which of these Economics Jargons - Underemployment, Overemployment, Unemployment, Rightemployment, Overqualification and Overeducation is Appropriate for an Economy?