Labor market - labor market English

Japanese: 労働市場 - ろうどうしじょう（英語表記）labour market 英語

The labor market is a place where transactions take place between sellers (workers) and buyers (capitalists) over the commodity labor power, and wages and other working conditions are determined by this supply and demand relationship. In order for the labor market to exist, it is necessary for labor power (the physical and mental abilities of humans used when working) to become a commodity. For this to happen, there must be people who are free in terms of personality and status, do not own the means of production, and can only make a living by selling their labor power.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Labor Market Theory in Marxian Economics

The supply and demand relationship for general goods is different in nature from that for labor-power goods. In the former, demand and supply are determined by separate factors, while in the latter, the capital accumulation process acts simultaneously on the demand and supply of labor-power. First, capital accumulation promotes the development of methods for producing surplus value (profit) in the production process based on the development of social productive forces. This process leads to an increase in the organic composition of capital (a relative decrease in the amount of capital used to purchase labor-power compared to the capital used to purchase the means of production), which is a basic factor in the generation of relative surplus population (various forms of unemployment). The existence of a relative surplus population puts pressure on employed workers to work long hours, work excessively, and cut wages. If employed workers work more or compensate for the decline in wages by having their families work more, the surplus supply of labor-power will increase even further. The inability of workers to temporarily restrict the sale of labor-power and wait for favorable conditions in the labor market also promotes the surplus supply of labor-power.

In this way, Marxist economics criticizes the view of the labor market in which demand (capital accumulation) and supply (working population) are mutually independent and wages are determined by the quantitative relationship between the two. It considers that capital acts not only on the demand side of the labor market but also on the supply side at the same time, and that capital accumulation has within it a mechanism that overcomes the limitations of labor supply and constantly creates a relative surplus population.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Labor Market Theory in Labor Economics

In labor economics, which is based on modern economics, the labor market is where labor services are traded, and the price (wages) and volume of labor services traded (employment) are determined there. At that time, the demand (companies) and supply (workers) of labor services are considered to be determined by mutually independent factors. As wages rise, the supply of labor increases, while the demand for labor decreases. Therefore, if the horizontal axis shows the demand and supply of labor and the vertical axis shows the wage, the labor supply curve slopes upward and the labor demand curve slopes downward. In a perfectly competitive labor market, labor services are traded at the intersection of the labor supply curve and the demand curve, and wages and employment volume are determined. Since workers are employed as long as they accept the wage amount established in the market, involuntary unemployment does not occur. However, the real labor market is not competitive in this way, and unemployment occurs due to uneven distribution of information on labor supply and demand, mismatches between supply and demand for workers depending on their age, occupation, and region, and wages do not fall sufficiently due to resistance from labor unions.

In the labor economics theory of labor markets, the following issues are analyzed: (1) the allocation and reallocation of labor between occupations and industries through labor mobility; (2) the process of the formation of relative disparities in working conditions that trigger labor mobility; (3) factors that determine the amount of labor supply; (4) the structure of labor demand; and (5) the adaptation or non-adaptation of labor supply to that demand (Masajiro Ujihara, ed., "Japan's Labor Market"). There is also a theory that divides the labor market into an external labor market, which is a mechanism for adjusting the supply and demand of labor across companies, and an internal labor market, which is a place for adjusting the supply and demand of labor within a company (such as worker placement, promotion, and wage management). In large companies, there is a tendency to suppress labor mobility (long-term employment) because specialized skill training is carried out within the company, and the internal labor market theory focuses on this reality.

Western European labor markets

In the UK and other Western countries, after the Industrial Revolution, a labor market for skilled male occupations such as machinists was established on the one hand, and a simple labor market for unskilled occupations mainly for women and minors on the other. Skilled workers organized themselves into occupational labor unions, and by using apprenticeship and closed-shop policies to limit the number of union members, they pressured capitalists to obtain favorable conditions for workers by monopolizing the supply in the labor market. Furthermore, occupational unions established mutual aid systems such as unemployment benefits. As the stage of monopoly capitalism began, mass production methods became widespread and skilled occupations began to disintegrate, and the advantage of skilled workers in the labor market collapsed. With the increase in unskilled workers and the unemployed, industrial unions and general unions, which organized workers in the same industry regardless of occupation, replaced occupational unions. The method of restricting the supply of labor was no longer valid, and the movement moved in the direction of demanding the state to realize social policy systems such as a minimum wage system and social insurance. After World War II, in order to compete with the Soviet Union, advanced capitalist countries in Europe and the United States increased their intervention in the labor market, adopting full employment policies that guaranteed high profits for capital while providing relief to the unemployed.

However, the first oil crisis in 1973 triggered a slowdown in the global economy, and as stagflation progressed, the full employment policy collapsed. In the field of labor policy, there was a growing view that public security (such as livelihood security for the unemployed and the creation of public employment programs) should be curbed, while the supply mechanism should be allowed to function in the labor market. This was developed in the 1980s as labor market flexibility and deregulation policies. The argument for promoting labor market flexibility argued that since rigidity in the labor market is a factor in low productivity and increases unemployment, rigidity in employment should be avoided, and that deregulation should be used to reduce labor costs, thereby restoring corporate competitiveness and promoting employment expansion.

[Goga Kazumichi]

Japan's Labor Market

In the case of Japan, the process of establishing industrial capitalism and forming the labor market was unique, determined by the parasitic landlord and tenant farming systems that dominated rural areas. The young female labor force that was included in the labor market of the textile industry, which was the core sector at the time, were the children of small-scale tenant farmers who were under the pressure of high rents, and their wages were reduced to a level that only supplemented the household income. On the other hand, a highly mobile and cross-sectional skilled male labor market was also formed, as represented by machinists in shipbuilding and vehicle manufacturing, but the former occupied a major position in terms of quantity. It was not until the 1930s that male workers exceeded female workers in terms of the composition of factory workers. In the stage of monopoly capitalism, skilled workers began to be trained within companies, and the cross-sectional male skilled labor market became more segmented by company. Furthermore, the division between the labor markets of large companies and those of small and medium-sized companies deepened.

After World War II, during the period of high economic growth, large companies increased their hiring of young workers, which led to some labor shortages. Meanwhile, middle-aged and older workers who could not fully adapt to technological innovation were pushed out of large companies and moved downward into the labor market of small and medium-sized enterprises. Since the late 1970s, when high economic growth collapsed and the economy shifted to low growth, large companies have reduced the number of regular employees, while on the other hand, they have started to utilize non-regular employment such as part-timers, outside contractors, and dispatched workers. These changes in the labor market have become even more pronounced since the 1990s with the progress of economic globalization and the promotion of deregulation policies. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' 2007 Basic Survey on Employment Structure, non-regular employment has reached over 35% of all workers.

[Goga Kazumichi]

"Lecture Series on Labor Economics, Vol. 1: Japan's Labor Market" edited by Ujihara Masajiro (1967, Nippon Hyoronsha)" ▽ "Labor Market Analysis" by Odaka Kounosuke (1984, Iwanami Shoten)" ▽ "Analysis of the Japanese Labor Market, volumes 1 and 2, by Ujihara Masajiro and Takanashi Masaru (1971, University of Tokyo Press)" ▽ "New Edition of Labor Economics" edited by Nagayama Takeo (2000, Minerva Shobo)" ▽ "Introduction to Labor Economics" by Ota Soichi and Tachibanaki Toshiaki (2004, Yuhikaku)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

労働力商品をめぐって売り手（労働者）と買い手（資本家）の間で取引が行われ、この需給関係によって賃金などの労働条件が決定される場を労働市場という。労働市場が成立する前提として、労働力（労働する際に行使される人間の身体的および精神的諸能力）が商品となることが必要である。そのためには、人格的、身分的に自由であり、かつ生産手段を所有せず、労働力を販売する以外には生活できない人々が存在していなければならない。

［伍賀一道］

マルクス経済学の労働市場論

一般の商品の需給関係と労働力商品の需給関係とでは性質が異なる。前者では需要と供給は別々の要因によって規定されているが、後者の場合、資本の蓄積過程が労働力の需要と供給に同時に作用している。まず、資本の蓄積は生産過程において社会的生産力の発展に依拠して剰余価値（利潤）を生産する方法の発展を促す。この過程は資本の有機的構成の高度化（生産手段の購入に充当される資本に比べて、労働力の購入にあてられる資本が相対的に減少すること）をもたらし、相対的過剰人口（各種の形態の失業者）を生み出す基本的要因となる。相対的過剰人口の存在は、就業労働者に対して長時間労働、過度労働や賃金の切下げを強いる圧力となる。これによって就業労働者がより多く労働したり、賃金の低下を家族の多就業で補うことになれば、労働力の供給過剰はいっそう増大する。労働者は労働力の販売を一時制限して労働市場における有利な状況を待つことができないということも、労働力の供給過剰を促進する。

　このようにマルクス経済学では、需要（資本蓄積）と供給（労働者人口）が相互に独立した関係にあって、両者の量的関係で賃金が決定されるという労働市場のとらえ方を批判する。資本は労働市場の需要面だけでなく供給の側面にも同時に作用しており、資本蓄積はそれ自身のなかに労働供給の限界を克服し、相対的過剰人口を絶えず生み出す機構を備えていると考える。

［伍賀一道］

労働経済学の労働市場論

近代経済学に依拠する労働経済学labour economicsでは労働サービスが取引される場が労働市場で、そこで労働サービスの価格（賃金）とその取引量（雇用）が決定されるが、その際、労働サービスの需要（企業）と供給（労働者）は相互に独立した要因によって規定されるととらえる。賃金が高くなるにつれて労働供給量は増加し、他方、労働需要量は減少するので、横軸に労働需要・供給量、縦軸に賃金を取ると、労働供給曲線は右上がり、労働需要曲線は右下がりになる。完全競争的労働市場では、労働供給曲線と需要曲線の交点で労働サービスの取引が成立し、賃金と雇用量が決定される。労働者が市場で成立する賃金額を受け入れる限り雇用されるので、非自発的失業は発生しない。しかし、現実の労働市場はこのように競争的ではなく、労働需給の情報が偏在していること、労働者の年齢や職種、地域をめぐって需給の間でミスマッチがあること、労働組合の抵抗によって賃金が十分に低下しないことなどのため、失業が発生する。

　労働経済学の労働市場論では、(1)労働移動を通じて行われる労働の職業間、産業間の配分と再配分の問題、(2)労働移動の契機となる相対的な労働条件の格差の形成過程の問題、(3)労働供給量を規定する要因、(4)労働需要の構造、(5)それに対する労働供給の適応・不適応の問題などが分析対象となる（氏原正治郎編『日本の労働市場』）。また、労働市場を、企業横断的に労働力の需給調整が行われる機構としての外部労働市場と、企業内部における労働力の需給調整（労働者の配置や昇進、賃金管理など）の場である内部労働市場に分けてとらえる理論がある。大企業では専門的技能養成を企業内で行うため、労働移動を抑制する傾向（長期雇用）がみられるが、内部労働市場はこうした実態に着目した理論である。

西欧の労働市場

イギリスなどの西欧諸国では産業革命を経て、一方で機械工などの男子熟練職種の労働市場が、他方で女性や年少者を中心とする不熟練職種の単純労働市場が成立した。熟練労働者は職業別労働組合を組織し、徒弟制度やクローズド・ショップ政策を用いて組合員の数を制限し、労働市場における供給独占によって労働者に有利な条件の獲得を資本家に迫った。さらに職業別組合は失業手当など共済制度を整えた。独占資本主義段階に入って、大量生産方式が普及し熟練職種の解体が進むようになると、熟練労働者の労働市場における優位性は崩れた。不熟練労働者や失業者の増大を背景に、職種を超えて同一産業に従事する労働者を組織した産業別組合や一般組合が職業別組合にとってかわった。労働力の供給制限という方法はもはや通用せず、その運動は最低賃金制や社会保険など社会政策的諸制度の実現を国家に要求する方向へ進んだ。第二次世界大戦後、ソ連に対抗するために、欧米の先進資本主義国家は資本に高利潤を保障しつつ失業者の救済を図る完全雇用政策をとって労働市場への介入を強めた。

　しかし、1973年の第一次石油危機を契機に世界経済は停滞し、スタグフレーションが進むなか、完全雇用政策は破綻(はたん)した。労働政策分野では公的保障（失業者に対する生活保障や公的就労事業の創設など）を抑制するとともに、労働市場において供給メカニズムが発揮されるようにすべきとする考え方が強まった。これは1980年代以降、労働市場の弾力化、規制緩和政策として展開された。労働市場の弾力化推進論は、労働市場の硬直性が低生産性の要因となり、失業の増大をもたらすので、雇用の硬直化を避け、規制緩和による労働コストの圧縮を通して企業の競争力を回復させて雇用の拡大を進めるべきとした。

［伍賀一道］

日本の労働市場

日本の場合、産業資本主義の確立と労働市場の形成の過程は、農村を支配した寄生地主制、小作制度に規定されて独特なものとなった。当時の基幹部門である繊維産業の労働市場に包摂された若年女子労働力は、高率小作料の重圧を受けた零細小作農家の子女で、その賃金は家計補助的水準にまで押し下げられていた。他方で造船や車両製造などの機械工に代表されるような、労働力流動性が高く、横断的な男子熟練労働市場も形成されたが、量的には前者が主要な位置にあった。工場労働者の構成上、男子労働者が女子を上回るのは1930年代になってからである。独占資本主義段階になると、企業内で熟練工の養成が行われるようになり、横断的であった男子熟練労働市場は企業別分断化が強められた。また大企業労働市場と中小企業労働市場の分断が深まった。

　第二次世界大戦後、高度成長期には、大企業が若年労働力の採用を増やしたため一部に労働力不足現象が生じた。一方、技術革新にも適応しきれない中高齢労働者は、大企業から排除され中小企業労働市場へ下向移動した。高度成長が破綻し低成長に移行した1970年代後半以降、大企業では正規労働者の削減が行われ、他方でパートタイマー、社外工、派遣労働者などの非正規雇用が活用されるようになった。こうした労働市場の変化は、1990年代以降、グローバル経済化の進展および規制緩和政策の推進によっていっそう顕著になった。総務省の2007年「就業構造基本調査」によれば、非正規雇用は全労働者の35％余に達している。

［伍賀一道］

『氏原正治郎編『講座労働経済　第1巻　日本の労働市場』（1967・日本評論社）』▽『尾高煌之助著『労働市場分析』（1984・岩波書店）』▽『氏原正治郎・高梨昌著『日本労働市場分析』上下（1971・東京大学出版会）』▽『永山武夫編著『新版　労働経済』（2000・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『太田聰一・橘木俊詔著『労働経済学入門』（2004・有斐閣）』