Definition of employment, unemployment and full employment. The nature and causes of changes in the pattern of employment, for example increase in proportion of workers employed in the tertiary sector and formal economy as an economy develops; a greater proportion of women in the labour force due to changes in social attitudes; decline in the proportion employed in the public sector as a country moves towards a market economy. How unemployment is measured – claimant count and labour force survey – and the formula for the unemployment rate. Frictional, structural and cyclical unemployment. The consequences of unemployment for the individual, firms and the economy as a whole. The range of policies available to reduce unemployment and how effective they might be.

Definition of economic growth. Real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and how it can be used to measure economic growth. GDP per head (capita). Meaning of recession and how a recession moves the economy within its PPC. How changes in total demand may increase the utilisation of resources and GDP – resulting in a movement from inside toward the PPC. How economic growth shifts the economy’s PPC to the right and is caused by changes in investment, technology, and the quantity and quality of the factors of production. The costs and benefits of economic growth in the context of different economies. The range of policies available to promote economic growth and how effective they might be.