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Dr. Frank Burtnett is the former President of Education Now, an independent consulting firm headquartered in Springfield, Virginia and Rockport, Maine. Since 1995, he has served as the principal consultant to NAPS on certification, accreditation, credentialing and educational matters. He was recently elected to the National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the professional development of search and staffing industry consultants. Frank is a counselor, educator, consultant, and author whose career has been dedicated to educational and career development issues, as well as service to the profession through management roles in professional counseling organizations. Today, he serves as an adjunct professor on the counselor education faculty of Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. His most recent publication, Career Challenges, examines the things people “do wrong” and “don’t do” in their quest for career satisfaction, work life after COVID and life–work balance. Two earlier youth and young-adult oriented guidebooks concentrated on the school-to-college and education-to-work transitions. Frank earned a BS in education at Shippensburg University and an MA and an EdD in counseling at George Washington University. Frank Burtnett invites career questions to answer in his new Q&A on EMinfo. Submit to Frank at ednow@aol.com His book Career Challenges was published by the Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group. You can order his book: Career Challenges here > https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475868081/Career-Challenges-Straight-Talk-about-Achieving-Success-in-the-Technology-Driven-Post-COVID-World-of-Work-3rd-Edition
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The Multiple Forms of Unemployment
By Frank Burtnett | Wednesday July 20, 2022
EMInfo Reader: Unemployed candidates appear to be coming at job seeking from different directions. How are some forms of unemployment different from others?
Dr. Burtnett: The United States Department of Labor, Census Bureau, and other federal agencies divide unemployment into three discernible categories: cyclical, structural, and frictional.
The type of unemployment the general population is most familiar with is cyclical. This occurs when a significant number of workers are furloughed or laid off during periods of economic downturn and recession. This period worsens when downturn period is extended and the damaged demand for goods and services is lengthened. The early days of the COVID19 crisis was a clear example of cyclical unemployment.
Structural unemployment sets in when the nation fails or falls behind in the sustainability of the workforce possessing adequate knowledge and skills needed by employers in the contemporary workplace. The workforce and the demands of employers are simply “out of synch” with each other. Skill adjustments, resulting in new competencies, are often required across various workforce sectors in order for structural unemployment to be corrected
Finally, frictional unemployment occurs when working individuals voluntarily exit employment situations in search of improved or more desirable roles. This category includes individuals who have chosen to leave their work roles temporarily (maternity/paternity leave, medical leave, etc.), and now desire to return to full employment.
Each of the types unemployment described above presents distinctive challenges to the worker transitioning back into the workforce. The more sensitive the search and staffing professional is to the needs of the candidate, the more effective, they will be in facilitating that individual’s personal career development.