Every year, as the last crimson leaf falls from the maple tree, a quiet economic shift begins in towns across the northern United States and Canada. The construction crews pack up their jackhammers. The resort staff at lakeside cabins turn off the lights. The agricultural workers harvest the final apple.
For the economist, it’s a variable to be adjusted out of the data. For the farmworker or ski lift operator, it’s a reality to be planned for. And for the policymaker, it’s a challenge: How do you build stability into a system that, by nature, ebbs and flows with the seasons? seasonal unemployment economics definition
Unlike cyclical unemployment (caused by recessions) or frictional unemployment (the brief gap between jobs), seasonal unemployment is both and expected . It is baked into the economic calendar. Every year, as the last crimson leaf falls