People as Resources

In economics, people or members of the economy are also considered resources. People who are part of the workforce contribute to the economy in various ways. Through their tasks, people play an important role in the growth of the economy. Their contributions not only help the economy grow but also provided support to build an economic structure for the advancement of a country.

Therefore, people must be considered as resources for an economy.

Human Resource Development (HRD)

Human resource development or HRD is the process of improving the productivity of a company by considering the employees as resources and increasing their well-being. It is a very important program for employees and it improves the condition of both the organizations and the economy as a whole.

Various HRD programs are implemented to enhance the skills of employees through education, and formal and informal training which enhances the skills and makes the employees better contributors to the economy. By providing healthcare to employees, their productivity is intended to increase. So, the employees remain more at work than absent, thereby bringing the productivity levels down.

Types of Economic Activities

Depending on the nature of the activities performed, economic activities are divided into three categories. These are −

• Primary activities
• Secondary activities
• Tertiary activities

Primary Activities − Activities related to horticulture, fishing, quarrying, poultry farming, mining, and animal husbandry are part of the primary activities. The primary activities are easy to perform as no modification of extraction of raw materials is needed to do them.

Secondary Activities − The secondary activities are also related to natural resources but these activities need modification of resources. Agriculture and raw-materials-based industries that produce various goods are part of this segment.

Tertiary Activities − The tertiary activities do not produce any goods directly but they include services that are the pillars of an economy. Banking, finance, transport, etc. are the services that are considered to be in this segment.

Economic and Non-Economic Activities

Activities related to the purpose of selling a product or service are known as economic activity. These activities are performed by people to accommodate and fulfil the needs of their daily lives. People working in any profession, business, and employment are involved in economic activities. Economic activities usually lead to earning money.

Any activity that is not economic or that does not lead to earning money is termed non-economic activity. Time spent with family, and religious activities are non-economic activities.

Market and Non-Market Activities

Economic activities can also be divided into market and non-market activities. If production is done with the aim to sell the product in the market, it is considered a market activity. Producing consumer durables is an example of market activity.

On the other hand, an activity or production that is not aimed to be sold in the market is known as non-market activity. The production of food crops for self-consumption is an example of non-market activity.

Quality of Population

To consider people as resources, the quality of the population must be known. Quality of population refers to the economic, educational, healthy, and skill standards of citizens of an economy. The quality of the population is dependent mainly upon three factors - education, health, and skills.

Lack of education makes people unfit to learn new skills and techniques. Moreover, illiterate people are less likely to imbibe technology to enhance their skills of employability. Unhealthy people are prone to absenteeism which leads to less productivity.

Similarly, a lack of skills can also be a disruptor of the quality of the population. If certain skills are not known, the population may lag behind in the race for growth. That is why the quality of the population must be enhanced for the growth of an economy and the progress of a nation.

Unemployment

Unemployment is referred to as the inability of a skilful and job-ready person to find a job or get employed.

In other words, unemployment is a situation where skilful people remain out of employment. In the case of unemployment, the candidate is willing to work but cannot secure a job for himself.

In simpler words, unemployment is the condition where people of working age and willing to work are unable to get an occupation for themselves. Unemployment is directly related to some of the most notable economic factors, such as income, demand, and wellness of a society.

Unemployment is related to various factors such as gender, educational qualifications, and demographics.

For example, in India, unemployment among women is more than among men while people in rural areas are more unemployed than in urban areas.

Unemployment is a Big Issue

Unemployment is a big issue for economics because it leads to other more severe issues as well. Lack of employment leads to poverty and people without jobs tend to get involved in illegal activities. It also causes social unrest in some instances. Unemployed youth are a burden for societies and it is related to unhealthy practices as well. Unemployment is also a factor of unrest in governments and is considered one of the key issues that governments must pay attention to.

Types of Unemployment

Urban unemployment − Urban unemployment refers to unemployment in urban areas. In those areas, the rate of college graduates remains intact but jobs do not grow in equal proportion. This creates an imbalance and the unemployment rate goes up.

Rural Unemployment − Rural unemployment can be seen in rural areas.

There are two types of rural unemployment - seasonal unemployment and disguised unemployment. Seasonal unemployment occurs when people are employed only during some seasons. This can be seen in villages where workers are employed only during sowing and harvesting.

Disguised unemployment − Disguised unemployment is found in densely populated countries like India. Here more people are employed for some jobs which can be done with a lesser number of employees. Even if some people are removed from jobs, no palpable effect is seen in productivity.

Conclusion

People are considered as resources rightly. As the economies are run by people and people contribute to all economic resources directly or indirectly, there are enough grounds to call them resources. In fact, probably people are the best economic resources. They perform all economic tasks and manage the world. They are responsible for a balanced society and the well-being of the world. Therefore, calling people the best resources is not wrong.

However, the world is still in need of balance in terms of human resources. Some countries are far better while others are in the grasp of poverty and lack resources. A lot has to be done to bring all people from all parts of the globe to the same resource table. That is probably the biggest challenge to economics and humanity.

FAQs

Q1. What is the main responsibility of the Human Resource department of companies?

Ans. The main responsibility of HRD is to enhance and improve the skills of employees who are considered human resources via education and skill training.

Q2. What are the two types of unemployment?

Ans. Depending on the demographics, unemployment is divided into two parts - rural unemployment and urban unemployment.

Q3. What is the importance of the quality of the population?

Ans. The quality of the population is a direct measure of the strength of an economy that possesses the population. The quality of the population is measured in terms of education, health, and skills which are a measure of contributions made by the population to the economy.