Employment Market, Jobs Market

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The landscape of the employment market has changed drastically over the past decade, given the rapid changes in technology. While it has become easier for job seekers to contact employers, the job market has also become more competitive, with workers from diverse regions and across industries vying for the same vacancies.

Employment Market: How is it Measured?

The United Nations has assigned the task of measuring the employment market to the International Labor Organization (ILO). As per the guidelines set by the ILO, anyone above the age of 16 and working for at least one hour a week is considered to be employed. The Labor Force Survey (LFS) conducted by the ILO on a regular basis categorizes the employed workforce as:

  • Employees
  • Self employed people
  • Unpaid family workers (who contribute to family business)
  • Participants in government-supported training and employment programs

    • The Employment Market measures jobs rather than workers, so if an employee works in an office by day, drives a taxi in the evenings and runs classes on the weekend, three jobs would be included in the total Employment Market statistics.

    Employment Market Measurement Example: The UK Employment Market

    In the UK employment market, 86.6% of the population is employed, while 13% is self employed. Unpaid family workers represent 0.3% and government-supported trainees constitute 0.3% of the UK employment market. Employable people that do not have jobs are classified as unemployed and measured separately.

    Job Markets: Prospects

    According to “Occupational employment projections to 2016,” published in the Monthly Labor Review (by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor) in November 2007, the following professions have VH (Very High) growth opportunities:

    • Registered nurses
    • Post-secondary teachers
    • Computer software engineers
    • Accountants and auditors
    • Management analysts
    • Network systems

    The same review highlighted the following jobs as those having declining opportunities. By 2016, these jobs are expected to decline by:

    • Photographic processing machine operators (50%)
    • File clerks (41%)
    • Model makers, wood (41%)
    • Telephone operators (40%)
    • Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders (31%)
    • Order clerks (24%)

    Employment market statistics also provide an estimate of the unemployed people who may or may not be seeking jobs. Laid off employees are included in the unemployed workforce.

     

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