Essential Definitions: Labor Market, Industry Sectors, and Productivity

Non-Wage Incentives and Employee Benefits

• Job Satisfaction: The feeling a worker has when they enjoy their job. This feeling is personal to the individual.
• Career Prospects: The opportunity for promotion within a job.
• Fringe Benefits: Non-financial incentives given to employees, such as subsidized housing, payment of school fees, or a company car.

Labor Market Concepts

• The Supply of Labor: Consists of workers actively looking for work.
• The Demand for Labor: Comes from employers seeking workers.

Industry Sectors

• Primary Industry: Extractive industries, including agriculture, livestock farming, fishing, and mining.
• Secondary Industry: Manufacturing and construction.
• Tertiary Industry: Services.

Understanding Trade Unions

A Trade Union is an association of employees created to protect and promote the interests of its members. Trade unions negotiate with employers to achieve better working conditions. Their leaders meet regularly with government and employer representatives.

Main Aims of Trade Unions

Trade unions primarily aim to achieve the following for their members:

• Better Working Conditions: To improve the overall quality of life for employees.
• Health and Safety: To ensure jobs are performed without danger to workers.
• Better Wages.
• More Training: To help workers secure better jobs or advance within the company.
• Equal Opportunities: Ensuring fairness for all workers, especially regarding gender equality.
• Influence over Decisions at Work: Workers must feel that their opinions are taken into account.
• Shorter Working Hours.

Trade Union Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:

• Workers know they are part of a group that represents them.
• Trade unions negotiate better terms and conditions for workers.
• Employees have support if there is a grievance (the feeling that they are being treated badly at work).
• Trade unions can call a strike.

Disadvantages:

In countries where trade unions are strong and have significant power, they may call frequent strikes, which can lead to unemployment and economic disruption.

Production and Economic Output Definitions

• Goods: Physical items bought by individuals and businesses (e.g., a coat, oil, a machine).
• Service: An intangible item. You cannot physically touch the service (e.g., banking, insurance, transport).
• Production: The process used to produce goods and services. It relates to the quantity of goods or services produced. Each stage in production adds value to the good or service. (Example: page 104).
• Productivity: The output per factor of production (e.g., labor) per period of time. It relates to the efficiency with which a good or service is produced.