A basic definition for employment is work available for an interested worker and unemployment is no work available. When I was in 5th standard in a government middle school in Bihar, we had a subject called civics where I understood that altogether unemployment is of three types:
1. Complete unemployment
2. Half unemployment
3. Hidden unemployment
Complete unemployment is a situation where you don’t have any work to do thru out the day, week, month and year. It’s easy to understand. You wanted to do some work but there is no work for you. Next one is half unemployment. Half unemployment is, if you have some work available for you during some time of year and don’t have any work after that. Best example can be taken from some seasonal farming when a labor gets some employment while doing the paddy farming and sits unemployed after the season is over. This type of unemployment is also easy to understand. Third one is most difficult and confusing. Hidden unemployment is where from the outside, others think that everyone is employed but usually few of them have work to do. For example if n number of labors can do some work in time t but the m (where m>n) labors are employed to do same work in same time t then its hidden employment. Earlier the accurate and real world examples for this type of unemployment were the government departments where more than required number of engineer and helper were employed to do some work which can be completed with less number of worker. Socialist and communist philosophy encourages this type of unemployment. One more example is where a more skilled worker does less skilled work. For example, if a PhD holder is employed to do some work which can be easily done by a diploma holder.
