Meaning of Labour. In simple language, “labour” means human efforts. But in Economics, labour consists of those human efforts, mental or bodily or both which are undertaken in the expectation of reward.
Thus, labour includes the following two things:
Labour can be physical as well as mental. For example, the labour of a worker is physical and that of a university lecturer mental.
Labour is that human effort which is undertaken for the sake of earning a wealth of a living. For example, where a man sings for his own recreation, his effort does not amount to labour. But, if he sings in expectation of a reward in a theatre, his exertion is labour.
Kinds of Labour:
There are four kinds of labour found in India:
Physical and mental labour.
Skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour.
Productive and unproductive labour.
Professional and administrative labour.
Skilled Labour: Skilled labour is performed by those workers who have received general education and professional training for a particular trade so that they can solve complicated problem connected with their job.
Semi-skilled Labour: Semi-skilled labour is performed by those workers who have received no formal training in the trade or job performed by them but they have acquired enough skill to solve various problems of trade by themselves.
Unskilled Labour: Unskilled labour is the labour which is performed by the worker who has obtained no training in any particular trade or line.
