ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the measurement of unemployment is a social construct, which depends upon a combination of factors, including the system of unemployment compensation, the patterns of family organisation, and the employment system. It examines the institutional constraints within different countries that condition the definition of unemployment, paying particular attention to the differences in definition and treatment by gender. The chapter deals with an assessment of the conventional measure of unemployment as an appropriate signal of the potential supply of labour in an economy. It considers the system of social and income support for the unemployed and evaluates the role of state policies in affecting whether or not a person is counted as unemployed or is eligible for benefits. The chapter also argues that eligibility conditions based on continuous employment history and minimum weekly hours or earnings thresholds exacerbate women's unequal access to benefits given women's over-representation in low paid jobs, precarious or atypical employment, and labour market quits.
