The proportion of a country’s working age population that is employed. Note that countries often vary in their working age range. “Employed” persons typically include everyone who is employed, or works in their own business, or works without pay in a family business. Countries may also have different standards regarding how many hours worked constitutes “employed” status. There may be significant variation between any two countries. The “Phillips Curve” compares employment with inflation, suggesting that high employment would cause inflation to increase. Governments that consider this a worthwhile tradeoff adopted expansionist policies, figuring that higher inflation was justified if it increased employment. The Phillips Curve has lost favor in recent years as the relationship between unemployment and inflation is less robust, but countries still use it in economic policy decisions.
