What is Seasonal Unemployment? | Definition, Examples, Benefits

Seasonal Unemployment Definition

Seasonal unemployment refers to the time period when the demand for labor or workforce is lower than normal under certain conditions, however, such a situation is only temporary and employment reverts to normal thereafter.

Examples of Seasonal Unemployment

The following are examples of seasonal unemployment.

Example #1

Let us understand this concept of seasonal unemployment with the help of an example:

There are a few seasonal crops i.e. crops that yield only in a particular season e.g. the Rabi or the winter crops. Farmers working for the yield of these crops would be seasonally unemployed during the other time of the year. That means, when there is an off-season for one crop, the farmers are unemployed as they do not get to work on the field for any other purpose.

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Example #2

To further understand, let us consider another example of seasonal unemployment:

Christmas Jobs: There are a few extra jobs that are created during the Christmas and new year eves e.g. the salesmen in a few retail stores, for the sales of Christmas trees, decoration, Santa disguises, etc. after which they will not have any work for the rest of the year. They are employed only to deal with the additional customer activity during the relevant season and would not be hired for an entire year but only for the particular season.

Benefits of Seasonal Unemployment

The following are the benefits of seasonal unemployment.

Seasonal unemployment is relatively regular and is commonly predictable.
Workers accepting seasonal employment are well aware that they will be employed only for a particular period after which they will resume being unemployed and hence, wages will be paid accordingly.
This is better than complete unemployment as labor force would earn wages for at least a part of the year. So, it is an essential part of many jobs.
Some people choose seasonal employment because they have some other prime activity to do during the time they are unemployed. For example, summer jobs, hobbies, etc. which they would not prefer or would not join if the employment had been all year round.
It may actually be considered as an opportunity by some professionals or students to build skillsets during a time of the year as they may be in other employment or coaching for the rest of the year. E.g., internships, fixed-term hires, etc.

Limitations of Seasonal Unemployment

The following are limitations of seasonal unemployment.

The primary disadvantage or limitation of seasonal unemployment is the same as that of any other unemployment. The employees/ workers/ Labor force face personal hardships during the time they are unemployed. However, it all depends on the employees also. Some might be willing to remain idle during the unemployment season while others may search for other jobs.
Like other forms of unemployment, another demerit of this kind of unemployment is that there is lost production. The producers may not be able to produce the goods required to the customers when there is seasonal unemployment. But this cannot be construed as the disadvantage of the seasonal unemployment itself. It is the drawback of the industry producing the seasonal products in its entirety.
Even though they are willing to be employed throughout the year, such employees might not find jobs that last for the entire cycle or jobs that provide long term commitment.

Seasonal Unemployment vs Disguised Unemployment

Seasonal unemployment is sometimes confused with disguised unemployment. Let us understand the differences between the two to appreciate the concepts individually:

Point of Difference	Seasonal Unemployment	Disguised Unemployment
Meaning	This is a phenomenon where the workforce is unemployed for a part of the year.	This occurs when the workforce does not contribute to their full potential or when the number of people is hired for a job than actually required.
Working	Employed for a part of the year and unemployed or remains for the rest.	Employed throughout.
Jobs	This happens when people are unable to find jobs for some months of a year.	In this situation, they appear to be employed but they have no productivity or very little productivity.
Example	Farmers working on a seasonal crop have work before the season such as digging, sowing, planting, harvesting, threshing, fertility checks, etc.	When a field requires only 4 laborers while 6-7 are employed because of entire family is not employed elsewhere and working on the field.

Conclusion

Seasonal unemployment is an agreed condition by the employers and the workforce that they will be hired only for a part of the year and after the agreed-upon time, the workforce will remain unemployed for the rest of the year. This occurs when a few industries slow down or shut down for a particular season or make shifts in their production schedule as per the weather, demand, etc. Another reason may be short term projects such as construction, etc. As noted above, it is different from disguised unemployment where more number of people are employed in a job than actually required.

We have seen that this time of unemployment has its disadvantages like any other type of unemployment meaning, idle workforce not able to make any money for survival during the unemployed part of the year. That said, there are also advantages as discussed earlier that it being better than unemployment wholly, pursuing interests, etc.