Worker

Probably the most important feature of the labor market that distinguishes it from all other markets is that the item being exchanged is embodied in a human being. The ownership and possession of a commodity such as wheat is completely transferable between buyer and seller and thus neither party has any interest in the personal characteristics of the other (for instance age, sex, color, personality, or even eating habits) the only interest of each party is to secure the most advantageous price possible. Likewise the wheat since it is an inert commodity does not care or have preference as to where and to whom it is sold.

The same conditions are not true in the labor market. Labor as a service is inseparable from the person providing it and thus the worker supplying the labor and the employer buying it must have a direct personal relationship with each other this would be ideal however not in our case. 

This and the fact that human beings have definite preferences with respect to the conditions they work under causes the exchange in the labor market to be determined not only by the price of labor but also by a host of non economic factors that are absent in commodity markets. These non economic factors are partly physical in nature, such as the risk of injury on the job or the pleasantness of the work environment and partly social in nature such as the prestige of the job the race or gender of workmates and the attitude of the management. We the blue collar are faced with hostility all around and we pay the ultimate price in sacrifice in the name of labor.

The importance of these factors for labor economics is that the decision of workers concerning for whom to work and the decision of the employer regarding whom to hire are based on package of considerations including not only the wage but all the advantages and disadvantages associated with the job or worker. Whether this relationship is beneficial to the worker or the employer, or we have reached the status of a commodity.