Definition of full employment
The Minister defined full employment as providing jobs for all potential workers and eliminating involuntary emigration, while allowing some short-term frictional unemployment. Asked whether this meant job creation should exceed the 28,000 figure based on a 5% unemployment target, he replied that it would not be much higher.
asked the Minister for Economic Planning and Development his Department's definition of full employment when formulating its economic plans.
Comment on this
Pursuit of the objective of full employment involves the implementation of policies to provide sufficient job opportunities for all potential labour force participants, thus eliminating involuntary emigration.
While the objective of full employment, under any definition, involves the reduction of long-term unemployment to a zero level, it is not incompatible with a low level of short-term, including frictional, unemployment which is unavoidable if labour mobility is to be maintained in conditions of full employment.
Comment on this
Is the Minister aware that in various reports over the past few years full employment has been defined variously as 2 per cent unemployment, 4 per cent unemployment and 5 per cent unemployment? Is the Minister aware that he and other members of the Government made speeches based on the latest projection of 5 per cent indicating that only 28,000 new jobs per year need be created? In view of that would the Minister not accept that if zero per cent is full employment the figure to aim for in job creation is much higher than 28,000?