What term refers to unemployment that occurs when wages are kept above the equilibrium wage rate due to government action or trade unions?

The term that refers to unemployment occurring when wages are maintained above the equilibrium wage rate due to actions such as government policies or the influence of trade unions is known as real wage unemployment. This situation arises when the price of labor is artificially elevated, which can lead to a surplus of labor in the market—meaning that more individuals are willing to work at that higher wage than there are jobs available.

When wages exceed the equilibrium level, employers may not be able to hire as many workers as they would at the market equilibrium, resulting in a scenario where some individuals remain unemployed despite their willingness to work. Real wage unemployment reflects the rigidity in the wage-setting mechanisms, and it is distinct from other forms of unemployment such as frictional, which is short-term and voluntary, or structural, which relates to a mismatch between skills and job requirements in the economy. Seasonal unemployment, on the other hand, pertains to predictable fluctuations in demand for labor at certain times of the year and does not relate to wage levels.