Suchergebnisse

Until the end of the seventies, the PRC was able to provide full employment for its high and quickly rising population only because of the large amount of hidden unemployment. Then, huge number of the labour force was still in agriculture. During the reforms of the eighties, however, lot of peasants lost employment resulting from increasing labour productivity. On the other hand, the reforms also created new employment possibilities in the private economy as well as in the secondary and tertiary sector. A solution for the employment problem in China should be further adequate expansion of these sectors, and, in the long run, shortening of working time, and education. Today, two kinds of labour markets are existing in China: Whereas there is an open market in the countryside and in the so-called second economy of the cities, the labour market in the so-called first economy of the cities, i.e. the state and the collective sector, is closed. Although the reforms theoretically provided the conditions for the opening of the whole labour market, some very important conditions are still missing in reality, namely the independence of the enterprises from administrative organs and social welfare system. Therefore, the reform of the employment system can only proceed step by step. Chinese economists lay emphasis on working contracts, employment of surplus labour within the enterprise, social unemployment benefits etc. The authors, however, expect that the reform of the employment system will meet with many difficulties resulting from the pre-reform economic system.

Persistent unemployment is recognised as one of the main mechanisms of social and political exclusion. The Dynamics of Full Employment provides a new and fresh approach to the question of full employment in contemporary society. It offers an internationally comparative, interdisciplinary approach to the dynamics of full employment and views the labour market not only as an economic institution, but as a social one

In terms of economy, it is practically impossible to tackle separately the issues of unemployment and labor market, Only in the non-market economy environment that existed till the very end of the past century the issue of human resources employment was treated as a dominant ideological and political issue. That resulted in inherited high rate of hidden unemployment, low labour productivity, technological gap in relation to the countries with the developed market economy, imbalanced regional development, and the like. People's psychological fear from unemployment resisted the reestablishment of the labour market. Many of them have experienced stressful job losses. Regretfully, in the first years of the market reestablish men t, due to well-known circumstances, new jobs have been created much slower than the surplus jobs have been eliminated in the rationalization process. That additionally increased the fear from unemployment and resistance to necessary transformation of labour legislation which should free the labour market from inflexible administrative restrictions. High unemployment rate does not characterize only the less developed countries. We have highlighted the problem in the EU member states, as well. Although we have not conducted a detailed empirical analysis, we have concluded that the issue of labour market functioning and unemployment have been the major internal problem for EU for many years now. EU plans to reach full employment in the foreseeable future. To reach the set goal, the labour legislation is being changed in terms of further labour market liberalization and achievement of flexible employment; establishment of European institutions with the task to tackle unemployment problems; and allocation of significant resources to finance employment programmes through structuring funds, first of all the European Social Fund. The general conclusion and the message to be drawn out of this paper are in that that the government and its social partners should, each in their domain of responsibility, do their best to free still hidden potentials of the labour market. In order to keep his job or to return to the work environment, a worker should master new competences and skills, and his employer should feel free to make decisions regarding his employees as much as he is free to choose work technology or the product he is going to produce. Of course, the labour market, particularly in high unemployment rate environment, does not imply employer's unlimited self-will toward his employees. Humane attitude and the heritage of the democratic world, which include equality among people without any kind of discrimination, gender equality, free movement, health care, right to social welfare, education, and the like, should be the leading principles. After all, EU has in its Social Welfare Charter clearly expressed its attitude toward man and his rights.