WAEC Economics 2022 Theory — Question 5

Model answer

(a)(i) Labour force refers to the proportion of a country's population in the working age group who are employed or are seeking employment, while efficiency of labour refers to the ability of labour to achieve the highest output possible without compromising quality in a given period of time. (b) Factors which determine the size of the labour force in a country: i. The total population of the country. If the total population is large, labour force will be large and vice versa. ii. The age distribution of the country's population. If the population is youthful, labour force will be large and vice versa. iii. The official retirement age of workers. If this is low, labour force will be reduced and vice versa. iv. The number of women who take up paid jobs. If this is large, labour force will also be large and vice versa. v. School leaving age of students. If this is low, labour force will be large and vice versa. vi. The number of people pursuing further studies after the school leaving age. If this is large then labour force will be small. vii. The number of people who retire voluntarily before the official retirement age. If more people retire before the official retirement age, labour force will be small and vice versa. viii. The number of disabled persons of working age. If this is quite large, labour force will be small and vice versa. ix. The number of persons in voluntary unemployment. If this is large, labour force will be small and vice versa. x. The net migration. If the number of immigrants is higher than the number of emigrants, labour force will be large and vice versa.