Economics and employment

Full employment is where most people over the age of 15, who are willing and able to work, find a job. It is not possible to have zero unemployment, as some people will always be unemployed due to structural, frictional and seasonal factors. Full employment can be viewed, therefore, as an acceptable zone of unavoidable unemployment.
Some economists view full employment in terms of a natural rate of unemployment. Natural unemployment can be measured by the NAIRU (Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment). The NAIRU is the lowest level of unemployment possible before labour shortages cause wages and, therefore, inflation to rise.