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Social Problems
Work and Unemployment
Overview
Modern economy originates with the information
revolution and post-industrial economy
- a productive system based on service work and
information technology
- began in 1950s
Character of work changed:
 From tangible products to ideas
 From mechanical skills to literacy skills
 From factories to almost anywhere
Economic Systems
Capitalism
 Private ownership of property
 Pursuit of personal profit
 Competition and consumer choice
Welfare capitalism combines a mostly
market-based economy with extensive
social welfare programs
Economic Systems (cont.)
Socialism
1. Collective ownership of property
2. Pursuit of collective goals
3. Government control of economy
Communism: a hypothetical economic and
political system in which members are
socially equal
Capitalism vs. Socialism
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Economic productivity: capitalism out
produces socialism 2.7:1.
Economic equality: socialist economies
create less income disparity but offer a lower
overall standard of living.
Personal freedom: capitalism has freedom
to act and socialism has freedom from want.
The Global Economy
The global economy expands economic activity
that crosses national borders
Consequences:
 Global division of labour
 Products pass through several nations
 National governments have less control
 Small number of businesses control a vast
share of the market
 Concerns about the rights and opportunities
of workers are raised
Other consequences
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The world's countries are becoming
specialized.
Governments can no longer fully control the
economic activity that takes place within their
borders.
A small number of businesses control a vast
share of the world's economic activities.
New Technology and the
Workplace
How computers change the workplace:
 “Deskilling” of labour: Machines make some
some workers and managers obsolete
 Making work more abstract: Understanding
rather than doing is key
 Limiting workspace interaction
 Enhance employer’s control of workers
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Allow relocation of work: call centres
Economic Sectors
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Primary: part that draws raw materials from
the natural environment
Secondary: part that transforms raw
materials into manufactured goods
Tertiary: part that generates services
“Social reproduction sector”: unpaid
labour
Changes in Economic Sectors
Dual Labour Market
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Primary labour market: occupations that
provide extensive benefits to workers, e.g.,
white collar professions and upper
management
Secondary labour market: jobs that provide
minimal benefits to workers, e.g., low-skill
service and blue-collar work
“Reserve army of labour”: those last hired in
expansion and first fired with contraction
Labour Force Participation in the
Canadian Post-Industrial Economy
In 2008, 18.2 million people in the labour force
but by Feb. 2009, down to 16.9%
 73% of men and 63% of women aged 15+
are in the labour force
 Approximately 4% are in agricultural work
 Approximately 75% of the labour force is in
the service sector, but much service work
pays much less than former factory jobs
Types of Employment
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Professions: require extensive education
and training – “white collar work”
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Paraprofessionals: have skills but lack theoretical
knowledge
Unionized work: 1/3 of labour force
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Some is “blue collar” work but highest level is in
public administration (i.e. teachers)
Self- and Underemployment
Self-employment: earning a living without
working for a large organization.
 Includes professionals, farmers, trades
people, and home businesses
 Approximately 15% of labour force
Underemployment uses less than one’s full
talents or abilities
 50% of university grads are in jobs that do
not require these credentials.
 But, level of education is a predictor of
employment
Underground Economy
Economic activity involving income or the
exchange of goods and services that is not
reported to the government as required by
law, e.g., baby-sitting, garage sales, and
illegal activity
 15-20 percent of economic activity
 Statistics Canada suggests 3.5 percent of
GDP
 Increased with imposition of GST
Bureaucratization
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Predicted and described by Max Weber
Based on rational-legal authority structure
Ideal bureaucracy has Christmas tree shape
Downward chain of command and upward
information flow
Tall (hierarchical) vs. flat (more democratic
and productive) bureaucratic structures
Structural Functionalist Perspective
on Work and Unemployment
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One of most basic social institutions
Provides social interaction, social solidarity
and cohesion in society
Stratification and hierarchy in workforce both
natural and normal
Unemployment is a dysfunction
Conflict and Feminist
Perspective
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Source of class conflict
Bourgeoisie want more labour for less money
and proletariat want more pay for less work
An inherent contradiction in capitalism
system
Workforce is patriarchal: women make less
Problem of the “reserve army of labour”
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Unemployment keeps wages low
Women are exploited for their unpaid labour
Symbolic Interactionist and
Social Constructionist Views
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Work is a major source of identity
Also source of status and recognition
Social Constructionist: The workforce, work
relations, and how people think about work
constantly evolving
Social Problems Linked to
Work and Unemployment
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Gender discrimination
Racial and ethnic discrimination
Inequality
Work-family problems
Alienation
Vulnerable Populations
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Sex workers
Child labourers
Unemployment
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Discriminatory unemployment
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Due to discrimination because of ethnicity or
gender
Structural unemployment
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Due to socio-economic factors
Unemployment (cont.)
Unemployed increases with “downsizing” esp. during a
recession
 Rarely below 5%
 Official statistics understate it (only a % of those still
“actively seeking work”)
 Does not include “discouraged workers”
 Does not count part-time work
 Some part-time work is involuntary
 Higher for visible minorities and Native men and
women
 Higher for younger men and women
Unemployment Rates
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In Canada, official unemployment rate on
Mar. 13 was 7.7%
U.S. was 8.1%
TD predicts will be 10% by end of the year
“There is no doubt that 2009 will go down in
history as one of the most difficult economic
years for Canadians” (Beata Caranci, TD's
director of economic forecasting)
Globally, a new forecast by the U.N. predicts
that more than 198 million people will be
unemployed in 2009
Work-related Health Problems
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Workplace safety
Work stress
Job insecurity
Exploitation
Health Consequences of
Unemployment
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Mortality
Substance Abuse
Depression and Anxiety
Increased smoking rate and higher obesity
Increased risk of violence (esp. domestic)
Other effects
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Spousal effects
Effects on children
Solutions?
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Tepperman suggests more job training and
education programs at the societal level and
therapy (for discouraged workers) and
networking at individual level.
However, when unemployment is structural and
global, then structural changes are needed
For instance, U.N's Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) suggests “ten million
[green] jobs could be created by investing in
restoring degraded forests, planting new trees,
building forest trails and recreation areas”
(reuters.com, March 10 2009)
Or….
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An example of a revolution promoting
democratic structural change
The take (2004)
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Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein
Produced by Barna-Alper productions and Klein
Lewis Productions with the NFB and CBC
A video on the effects of economic collapse and
globalization on work (and unemployment) in
Argentina in 2001