Workers & Wages
Microeconomic Decision Makers · 4 question types
Exam Frequency Analysis
Past paper frequency (2018 to 2024)
This topic accounts for approximately 8% of your exam marks.
Wage determinants, minimum wage effects, and trade union impact appear regularly in Section B; typically 6 to 10 marks.
Occupational mobility is the ease with which a worker can move from one type of job to another. Geographical mobility is the ease with which a worker can move from one location to another to take a job.
Several things make labour more or less mobile.
| What raises mobility | What lowers mobility | |
|---|---|---|
| Occupational | Transferable skills, retraining and education, similar work in other industries | Highly specialised skills, long training requirements, lack of retraining |
| Geographical | Affordable housing, good transport, available information on vacancies | High housing costs, family and social ties, language or cultural barriers |
Consequences matter for the whole economy. When labour is mobile, workers move quickly from declining industries and regions to growing ones, which keeps structural unemployment low and helps firms fill vacancies. When labour is immobile, workers stay stuck in shrinking industries or depressed regions, structural unemployment rises, and firms in growing areas face shortages that push wages up. Governments improve mobility through education and training (occupational) and through transport and housing policy or job-vacancy information (geographical).