Workers and wages
G3 Economics - syllabus K343, 2027
How people choose jobs, how wages are set and why they differ, labour mobility and division of labour.
- Choosing a job: wage and non-wage factors
People choose jobs by weighing the pay against non-wage factors such as hours, security and job satisfaction.
- How wages are set by demand and supply
The wage is the price of labour, set where the demand for labour from firms meets the supply of labour from workers.
- Trade unions and minimum wages
Trade unions and minimum wage laws can raise pay above the market wage, but may reduce employment.
- Why wages differ: the four reasons
Wages differ because of the demand for and supply of each kind of labour, bargaining strength, discrimination and government policy.
- Who earns more: skills, sector, gender and public or private
Skilled workers, tertiary sector workers, men in many countries and some private sector workers tend to earn more, and the four reasons explain each pattern.
- Mobility of labour
Labour mobility is how easily workers can change jobs (occupational) or move to work elsewhere (geographical).
- Division of labour
Division of labour splits production into tasks so each worker specialises, raising output but making work repetitive.
- Put it together: Raise pay for cleaners
Cleaners in a city earn low wages. The government wants to raise their pay. Compare three approaches.
What you will be able to do
I can explain the wage and non-wage factors behind a person's choice of job.
Syllabus K343, 3.3.1. Factors affecting an individual's choice of occupation: wage and non-wage factors
I can explain and draw how labour demand and supply, trade unions and minimum wages set wages.
Syllabus K343, 3.3.2. Wage determination: influences of the demand for labour and the supply of labour; trade unions and their relative bargaining power; government policy, including national minimum wage (NMW); drawing and interpretation of diagrams that illustrate the effects of: changes in demand and supply in the labour market, national minimum wages
Taught in How wages are set by demand and supply, Trade unions and minimum wages
I can explain why wages differ between workers, including skill, sector, discrimination and public or private employment.
Syllabus K343, 3.3.3. Reasons for differences in wages: reasons for differences: demand for and supply of labour, relative bargaining strengths, discrimination, e.g. male/female, government policy; how these reasons influence the wages of workers, depending on: level of skills of workers, economic sector workers operate in: primary/secondary/tertiary, discrimination between workers, e.g. male/female, whether the worker is working in the private sector or public sector
Taught in Why wages differ: the four reasons, Who earns more: skills, sector, gender and public or private
I can explain the causes and effects of changes in how easily workers move between jobs and places.
Syllabus K343, 3.3.4. Mobility of labour: causes of changes in the occupational and geographical mobility of labour; consequences of changes in the occupational and geographical mobility of labour
Taught in Mobility of labour
I can define division of labour and weigh its advantages and disadvantages.
Syllabus K343, 3.3.5. Division of labour: definition of division of labour (worker specialisation); advantages and disadvantages of division of labour
Taught in Division of labour