The demand for and supply of a Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) professor provides an example of a specific labor market in the Potterian world. There is a yearly demand for a DADA professor at Hogwarts. In a “normal” labor market, one way to solve a high turnover problem would be to raise wages and/or non-monetary benefits. (Slughorn makes this very request when asked to teach Potions.) However, the number of wizards willing to teach the Defense Against the Dark Arts is almost non-existent, due to the unhappy fates of the former professors. Because wizards weigh the net advantages and disadvantages of the DADA position carefully, there is an annual vacancy for this position. (The exception is Remus Lupin, who would have gladly continued as the DADA professor had prejudice, fear, and risk aversion not prevented him from doing so.)
Institutions like the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts introduce rules and regulations that further define the dimensions of the labor market. These effectively delineate who can compete for specific jobs, and who is most preferred. Delores Umbridge “drafted a bit of anti-werewolf legislation two years ago that makes it almost impossible for him [Lupin] to get a job.” (OP 14) This could be considered a type of protective labor law that limits the ability of “half-breeds” to compete for certain types of work, effectively establishing a barrier to entry for that segment of the labor market. This is also an example of market discrimination based on personal prejudice.
Education and training is the type of human capital investment receiving the most attention. While schooling at Hogwarts is partly a consumption good for some wizards, it is also a clear investment in their future. All MoM jobs require NEWTS, as does being a professor at Hogwarts. Students gain general on-the-job training in some courses and specific training in others. Other wizards, such as merchants, the Knight Bus operators, the tea trolley witch, and various entertainers, just to name a few, most likely learned their trade through hands-on specific training, regardless of their formal schooling.