THE CONTENT ESSENCE OF THE LABOUR MARKET: MULTIDIMENSIONALITY OF DEFINITIONS AND THE EVOLUTION OF ECONOMIC THOUGHT
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Abstract
The labour market is a complex multifunctional system governed by the general laws of a market economy, however, since the commodity here is a specific resource – human labour – which is difficult to measure and manage, and which, unlike other resources, has its own vision of its fate and possibilities for the application of consumer values, the functioning and evolution of this market have their own characteristics. Such features become a constant cause of transformations of market mechanisms and determine the type of behaviour of their participants. However, understanding the basic concepts and substantive essence of the labour market at the theoretical level can be a prerequisite for using its advantages and opportunities for promising economic reforms in a strategic perspective.
Purpose - concretization and clarification of the substantive essence of the concept of the labour market in the context of the multidimensionality of existing definitions and taking into account the evolution of economic thought under the influence of continuous scientific progress.
Fundamental and innovative theories of the existence and functioning of the labour market are analysed, such as classical theory, Keynesian theory, human capital theory, job search theory, neoclassical labour market theory, employment theory, institutional theory of the labour market, theory of effective wages, theory of behavioural economics in the labour market, theory of labour market segmentation, gender theory of the labour market, theory of the impact of technologies on the labour market. The areas of knowledge in which the scientific interests of modern scientists focusing on the problems of the labour market are located are tracked. The author's definition of the labour market, formalized using a systems approach, is proposed.
The terminological field of the concept of the labour market is outlined, which includes such categories as employment, wages, unemployment, labour resources, human resources, personnel, labour force, employees, human capital, intellectual capital, labour supply, labour demand, labour relations, labour productivity, education, experience, personnel shortage, demographic policy, and employment policy. Taking into account the consequences of technological progress and the transformation of market processes, the following terms were integrated into it: digital employment, digital recruiting, online employment, remote work, employer brand, gig economy, outsourcing, out staffing, platform employment, soft skills, upskilling, reskilling, competencies, knowledge economy, employee well-being, mentoring, coaching. It is proposed that the labour market be understood as a system of multilateral relationships between buyers of labour and human capital (employers) and sellers of labour (persons who are looking for an opportunity to satisfy their own needs by performing work or services for remuneration), as well as their own knowledge, skills and abilities that determine the quality of labour and its ultimate value for the buyer.
Tracing the evolution of understanding the substantive essence of the labour market demonstrates how this definition has transformed from the concept of matching supply and demand for human labour through a factor such as its price, i.e. wages, to a complex, multi-element and multifunctional dynamic system that adapts to external risks, forms synergistic effects and creates new properties for a more rational use of human capital with an orientation towards the interests of labour resources and business. The modern labour market is not only a set of market mechanisms governed by the laws of economic relations, it is a significant strategic social, demographic, economic factor of sustainable development of the state, a factor of its competitiveness in global markets, an indicator of the level of qualitative evolution and human centrism on a national scale.
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