Employment & unemployment

Work gives people income, dignity and a place in the economy — so when jobs are scarce, a country suffers. In this lesson we learn what the labour force is, and how to measure the unemployment rate with a simple calculation. We watch how the pattern of jobs changes as a country develops, moving from farming towards factories and services. We sort out the different types and causes of unemployment, discuss what unemployment does to the individual, to society and to the whole economy, and finally weigh up the remedies a government like Namibia's can use to put people back to work.