Chapter 9 Section 2

Labor and Wages

Sully Rivas

&

Zuejase Rodriguez

Period 8

VocabularyProductivity- Value of output

Equilibrium Wage- The wage rate that produces neither an excess supply of workers nor a demand.

Unskilled labor- Labor that requires no special skills.

Semi-skilled Labor-Labor that requires minimal specialization skills.

Professional labor- Labor that requires specialized skill and training.

Glass ceiling- An unofficial barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing in business dominated by white men.

Labor union-an organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions and wages for its members.

Featherbedding-the practice of negotiating labor contracts that keep unnecessary workers on a company's payroll

Labor Supply and Demand

Workers-hours per week

Hourly w

age

80 160 240 320 400

4

8

12

16

20

Workers-hours per week

Hourly w

age

80 160 240 320

4

8

12

16

20

400

SupplyDemand

Four Skill Levels

• Unskilled labor- Labor that requires no special skills.

• Semi-skilled Labor-Labor that requires minimal specialization skills.

• Skilled Labor- Labor that requires specialized skill training.

• Professional labor- Labor that requires specialized skill and training.

Pay Levels For Women“Women work”- Women have historically been denied entrance to certain high paying occupations, such as doctors lawyers and CEOs.

“Human Capital”-Overall, women have less education, training and experience in certain occupations than men.

“Women's career paths”- Even today, some employers assume that female employees are not interested in career advancement.

Despite the protection against wage equality the earning gap that many people see between the wages of men and women is only gradually being closed.

Unions

A labor union is an organization of workers that tries to improve working conditions, wages and benefits for its members

Some evidence suggests that unions depress the wages of nonunion workers.

1.Union press employers to raise their members wages.

2.When wages go up, the quantity of labor demand goes down. Thus, the number of union jobs decrease

3.As union jobs are cut, more workers are forced to seek nonunion jobs.

4.An increased in supply of available nonunion workers causes the wage rate for nonunion jobs to fall.

Quiz1.What are four categories in job skill levels?A.B.C.D.

2.Draw and explain the differences of Labor Supply and Demand

3.How does skilled labor differ from professional labor?

4.How do minimum wage and safety laws affect wages?

5.Explain why doctors have a higher pay than a construction worker?

6.Explain why women get paid less than men even if they have the same job?