The labour supply is the number of hours people
are willing and able to supply at a given wage rate.
- It is the number of workers willing and able to work in a
particular job or industry for a given wage
- The labour supply curve for any industry or occupation will be
upward sloping. This is because, as wages rise, other workers enter
this industry attracted by the incentive of higher rewards. They
may have moved from other industries or they may not have
previously held a job, such as housewives or the unemployed
- The extent to which a rise in the prevailing wage or salary in
an occupation leads to an expansion in the supply of labour depends
on the elasticity of labour supply.