Economics · General Awareness

Unemployment and Labor Economics

1,018 Questions

Understand economic fundamentals through these questions on unemployment and labor economics. Topics cover the natural rate of unemployment, labor force participation, and official definitions of joblessness. This material is tailored for civil services and economics exam preparation.

Natural rate of unemploymentLabor force participationCauses of job displacementDefinition of unemploymentUnemployment reduction methodsGig economy impacts

Unemployment and Labor Economics Questions

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

__________ is not treated as unemployment.

  1. Disguised unemployment

  2. Involuntary unemployment

  3. Voluntary unemployment

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Voluntary unemployment occurs when a person chooses not to work at the prevailing wage rate, whereas involuntary and disguised unemployment are forms of economic hardship where individuals are unable to find suitable work.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Unemployment rate in India is defined as the ratio of number of persons unemployed to total __________.

  1. population

  2. population excluding children

  3. labour force

  4. population excluding the aged
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Unemployment rate in India is defined as the ratio of number of persons unemployed to total population.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Out of the four types of unemployment mentioned below, which one is the most disturbing for the Indian economy?

  1. Cyclical unemployment

  2. Frictional unemployment

  3. Disguised unemployment in the rural sector

  4. Urban unemployment among the educated classes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Cyclical unemployment occurs due to business depression.Frictional unemployment is a temporary short-term unemployment, which emerges due to a number of reasons.Disguised unemployment is another name of under employment when a person is employed but not to the maximum of his normal ability for want of an opportunity.But the most disturbing unemployment is of educated because due to this country is losing its human capital that has made by a considerable national spending.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

The 3 sources of data on unemployment are _________.

  1. Census of India

  2. National Sample Survey Organisations Reports of Employment and Unemployment Situation

  3. Directorate General of Employment and Training Data of Registration with Employment Exchanges

  4. all of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation
There are three sources of data on unemployment: Reports of Census of India, National Sample Survey Organisation’s Reports of Employment and Unemployment Situation and Directorate General of Employment and Training Data of Registration with Employment Exchanges. Though they provide different estimates of unemployment, they do provide us with the attributes of the unemployed and the unemployment scenario prevailing in our country.
Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Unemployment during recession is called ______ unemployment.

  1. cyclical

  2. frictional

  3. structural

  4. voluntary
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Cyclical unemployment is caused by the business cycle, specifically during periods of economic recession when demand for goods and services drops.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Disguisedly unemployed labour has ______ marginal productivity. 

  1. zero

  2. one

  3. minimum

  4. maximum
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Disguised unemployment occurs when more people are employed than are needed for a job. Therefore, the marginal productivity of the additional labour is zero.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Introduction of computer causes ______ unemployment.

  1. technological

  2. structural

  3. frictional

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Technological unemployment occurs when advancements in technology, such as the introduction of computers, replace human labour.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Unemployment during the off season is called ______ unemployment.

  1. urban

  2. seasonal

  3. disguised

  4. involuntary
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Seasonal unemployment occurs when people are unemployed during certain times of the year, such as in agriculture between harvest and sowing seasons.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Unemployment due to power cut is called ______ unemployment.

  1. frictional

  2. cyclical

  3. seasonal

  4. voluntary
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Frictional unemployment is the temporary unemployment that occurs when workers are between jobs or when production is interrupted by factors like power cuts or supply chain issues.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Educated unemployment is ______ unemployment.

  1. open

  2. hidden

  3. cyclical

  4. frictional
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Educated unemployment is considered open unemployment because these individuals are actively looking for work and are visibly without jobs, unlike disguised unemployment.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Fill in the blanks from the alternatives given in the brackets.
Defective education system causes _____ unemployment.

  1. educated

  2. technological

  3. frictional

  4. rural
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

When the education system does not align with the skills required by the market, it leads to educated unemployment.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Labour Force consists of ________.

  1. all people officially employed or unemployed

  2. all people over the age of 18 but less than 58 years of age

  3. all youth having passed matriculate examination

  4. all the three
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The labour force is defined as the sum of employed and unemployed individuals who are willing and able to work.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

For calculating an unemployment rate for any reference year generally.

  1. Open unemployment status is taken

  2. Weekly status of unemployment

  3. Daily status of unemployment

  4. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Open unemployment status (or Usual Principal Status) is the most common metric used for calculating the unemployment rate in India, as it measures the status of a person over a long reference period of one year.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Unemployed as a percentage of total labour force worked out to ________  for the country as a whole.

  1. 10.4 per cent

  2. 20.4 per cent

  3. 30.4 per cent

  4. 40.4 per cent
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

This specific figure (10.4 percent) refers to historical data points often cited in older textbooks regarding unemployment rates in India.

Multiple choice economics employment: growth, informalisation and other issues measures to alleviate unemployment unemployment measures unemployment and employment generation

Work Force Participation Rate (WPR) equals ___________________.

  1. number of persons in the Labour Force per 1000 persons of the Population

  2. number of persons employed per 1000 persons in the Labour-Force

  3. number or persons unemployed per 1000 persons the Labour-Force

  4. none of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Work Force Participation Rate (WPR) is defined as the number of persons employed per 1000 persons in the labor force (or sometimes population, but in this context, it refers to the employed proportion).