Which of the following is the closest example of structural unemployment?

Which of the following is the closest example of structural unemployment?

A. An accountant quitting her job to become an investment banker.

B. An auto worker being fired for poor job performance.

C. Workers in a firm manufacturing films for roll film cameras losing jobs due to the popularity of digital cameras.

D. A consultant being laid off because poor economic conditions have depressed the market for consultants.

E. A college graduate seeking his/her first job in the IT industry.

Answer: D. A consultant being laid off because poor economic conditions have depressed the market for consultants.

Structural unemployment is defined as where there are structural changes in the labour market hence the mismatch in the skills possessed by workers and those demanded by vacancies in the market usually brought about by technological change or shifts in consumer demand. In the given example, the workers used in the process of manufacturing films for roll film cameras were unemployed because the digital cameras flooded the market and the use of the films was reduced. The fragility of technology in the company and the growing shift in consumers’ preferences made the company be victim of structural unemployment. The other choices refer to other kinds of unemployment; frictional (A and E), cyclical (D), or due to personal reasons (B), but none of these match structural unemployment.