1. Warm-Up:
In your notebook, define in your own words, to the best of your ability;
Labor – the effort people devote to tasks for which they are paid.
Unemployment – people who do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the past four weeks, and are currently available for work. Also, people who were temporarily laid off and were waiting to be called back to that job are included. Those who have not looked for work within the past four weeks are no longer counted among the unemployed.
Unions – (Labor) an organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages, and benefits for its members.
Minimum wage – a minimum price that an employer can pay a worker for an hour of work.
After you have completed the above in your notebooks, please turn in your Franchise Frenzy assignment and ch. 7 practice packet.

2. Current Event Investigation
Your will be assigned in pairs/threes an article to read together. On a separate piece of paper, you will answer the following questions below…
Questions to answer after reading:
What is the title of the article, what is the source, and what is the date?
How is this article related to Labor and employment?
How will the news event affect businesses? Employment/unemployment? Our government?
Explain how this is an example of our changing labor force.
In your opinion, will this change/event help or hurt our economy? Will it benefit the consumers? Will it benefit the suppliers?
If you were a business owner right now, how would this news change how you run your business?

3. Unit 3 Half-Way Check-in Rate Yourself 1-4, and write one sentence why you give yourself the following score. 4 3 2 1
Students can: identify Perfect competition, monopolies, monopolistic competition, and oligopolies, regulation, and deregulation. Research and Development. Students recognize business models such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, franchises and corporations, mergers, and nonprofit organizations. Students understand labor market trends, labor and wages, and organized labor. Students can identify how economic trends affect workers.
Students can: identify Perfect competition, monopolies, monopolistic competition, and oligopolies, regulation, and deregulation. Research and Development. Students recognize business models such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, franchises and corporations, mergers, and nonprofit organizations. Students understand labor market trends, labor and wages, and organized labor.
Students can: identify Perfect competition, monopolies, monopolistic competition, and oligopolies, regulation, and deregulation. Research and Development. Students recognize business models such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, franchises and corporations, mergers, and nonprofit organizations.
Students can: identify Perfect competition, monopolies, monopolistic competition, and oligopolies, regulation, and deregulation. Research and Development.

4. What does labor and wages, have to do with the economy?
What types of decisions must be made by the government in regards to labor and unemployment?
What questions to you have about labor and unemployment?

5. How can workers best meet the challenges of a changing economy?
Labor
How can workers best meet the challenges of a changing economy?

6. Tracking the Labor Force
LABOR FORCE: All non-military people who are employed or unemployed.
The United States Department of Labor (Bureau of Labor Statistics) surveys households to get month data.
Employed if they are over 16 years old and meet at least one of t he following
Worked at least 1 hour for pay in last week
Worked 15+ without pay in a family business
Held jobs but did not work due to illness, vacations, labor disputes or bad weather.

7. Composition of US Labor Force (2008)
301,000,000 people
Military- 3,000,000
Institutionalized- 1,526,000
Non-labor- 80,000,000
Labor Force- 150,000,000
Employed- 142,000,000
Unemployed- 8,000,000

8. What important info can we learn from labor statistics?
Occupational Trends
A Changing Economy
Fewer Goods, More Services
Effects of International Competition
Outsourcing- the practice of contracting with another company to do a specific job that would otherwise be done by a company’s own workers
Offshoring- the movement of some of a company’s operations to another country

9. Changes to the American Worker
1950’s- White Male, who graduated high school and worked 40 hours a week at the same job until about 65 (retirement).
Now more women, minorities enter the workforce, and on average can expect to have 4 or 5 different jobs in the adult life.
More college graduates, more education= Higher wages
Learning Effect
Screening Effect
Contingent Employment, such as temps, or part-time. Becoming much more common to be a “contract employee”

10. Benefits for Businesses to Hire Temporary Employees
Flexible work arrangement, that can change with demand quickly.
Paid less, and often given fewer benefits, so cuts cost.
Discharging temporary employees is easier and cheaper, no severance packages etc.
Some workers actually prefer these types of work arrangements, although studies show most temporary employees would prefer a more perminant arrangement.

11. Impact of Foreign Born Workers
Guest Workers- Living and working in the U.S. only temporarily.
Both used in high tech and low tech jobs.
American Firms must prove a need.
Hotly debated topic by economists.

12. Wage and Benefit Trends
Real Wages Down
Costs of Benefits Up
Wages and Skill Level: pg. 229
Unskilled Labor- work that requires no specialized skills, education, training
Semi-Skilled Labor- work that requires minimal specialized skills and education
Skilled Labor- work that requires specialized skills and training
Professional Labor- work that requires advanced skills and education

13. Wage Discrimination Illegal, many laws against wage discrimination.
Pay levels for women vary…
“women’s work” and different occupations
“human capital” and education
“women’s career paths” and advancement goals
“Glass Ceiling effect”

14. Other Factors Affecting Wages
Minimum Wage Laws
Safety Laws (OSHA)
Employers response…trade human capital for physical capital
Unions (pg. 233)