Fighting unemployment“Of all the aspects of social misery, nothing is more heartbreaking than unemployment. » (Addams 1910) Unemployment has long been a macroeconomic problem for all governments around the world and is defined as people of working age but unemployed in the last four weeks according to the International Labor Organization. At the end of 2009, the number of people unemployed or wanting to work reached the highest level of 8.2% since 1997. These increases do not begin with the recession but since 2005 (Boardman 2010: 105). When it comes to the costs of unemployment, it is not just about the problems of the unemployed themselves, but also about national production, public taxes, human resources and even social unrest. Therefore, this essay will illustrate the causes of unemployment, approaches to tackling unemployment in the UK and how the approaches influence other macroeconomic issues. It is possible to reduce the unemployment rate in the country by implementing relative approaches by knowing the root causes of unemployment. To begin with, the causes of unemployment generally fall into two broad categories: equilibrium unemployment and disequilibrium unemployment. The first is defined as "unemployment resulting from real wage rates in the economy being above the equilibrium level and the second is defined as the difference between those who would like to work at the current wage rate and those who are ready to accept employment. Sloman (1991: 421). Disequilibrium unemployment is generally caused by real wage unemployment and insufficient unemployment relative to demand. Real unemployment is usually caused by the power of unions or by the national minimum wage set above the market clearing wage. In 1970, union power reached its peak and trough in 1990, middle of paper......phyAddams,J (1912).Twenty Years at Hull-House.The MacMillan CompanyA.Pissarides,C (2003 ). Unemployment in the United Kingdom: AND a European success story. Pages 2Adams, S. Periton, P (2005). Cima Study Systems 2006: Economics for businesses. Pages 137Boardman, J (2010). Social inclusion and mental health. The Royal College of Psychiatrists. Pages 105Moon, J.Richardson, J. (1985) Unemployment in the United Kingdom. Pages 64Malcolm, S and David, S. (2008). On the definition of involuntary unemployment. Journal of Socio-EconomicsSolman,J. Wride, A (2009). Economics 7th edition. Pages 421-422 Werding, M (2006). Structural unemployment in Western Europe: reasons and remedies. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Pages 221Links: http://www.zum.de/whkmla/sp/changhyun/NSthatcher.htmlhttp://www.politics.co.uk/briefings-guides/issue-briefs/employment/national-minimum-wage-$366581 .htm