📚 Learning Guide
Demand and Supply in Labor Markets
hard

In a competitive labor market, if there is an increase in labor supply while labor demand remains unchanged, what is the likely effect on the unemployment rate?

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Learning Path
Learning Path

Question & Answer
1
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2
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3
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4
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Choose the Best Answer

A

Unemployment will decrease

B

Unemployment will increase

C

Unemployment will remain unchanged

D

Unemployment will fluctuate unpredictably

Understanding the Answer

Let's break down why this is correct

Answer

In a competitive labor market, when the supply of labor increases but the demand for labor stays the same, it means more people are looking for jobs without more jobs being available. This situation often leads to higher competition among job seekers, which can result in some people becoming unemployed. For example, if a new group of workers, like recent graduates, enters the job market while the number of available jobs remains the same, some of these graduates may struggle to find work. As a result, the unemployment rate is likely to rise because there are more people seeking jobs than there are jobs available. Therefore, an increase in labor supply with unchanged demand typically leads to higher unemployment.

Detailed Explanation

When more people are looking for jobs but the number of jobs stays the same, there are not enough jobs for everyone. Other options are incorrect because Some might think that more workers means more jobs, but that's not true here; It's a common mistake to think that supply and demand balance each other out.

Key Concepts

labor demand
labor supply
unemployment
Topic

Demand and Supply in Labor Markets

Difficulty

hard level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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