Assignment

Purpose of Assignment

The purpose of this assignment is so students may look at the microeconomic data and other sources for better understanding of trends and determinants of the labor market.

We will look at the microeconomic data and other sources for better understanding of trends and determinants of the labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website provides public with an easy access to different statistical tools and different types of data presentation.

Assignment Steps

Select one of the following surveys as a team, from the BLS Current Employment Statistics survey (National):

• Goods-producing Employment - CES0600000001
• Construction Employment - CES2000000001
• Manufacturing Employment - CES3000000001
• Trade, Transportation, and Utilities Employment - CES4000000001
• Retail Trade Employment - CES4200000001
• Education and Health Services Employment - CES6500000001

Retrieve and save a Microsoft Excel file and the graphs to your desktop for analysis. You will have to check the "include graph" box along the top of the page to see the graph, and you will need to copy and paste the graph separately into your Microsoft Excel document.

Consider the following two articles, located in the Week 4 Electronic Reserve Readings, discussing actor salaries and hedge fund executives' average salaries:

• "Robert Downey Junior is Hollywood's Highest-Paid Actor"
• "In Tough Year, Hedge Fund Leaders Still Paid Well: Average Salary of $467M Was Half 2013, Report Says"

Campus Classes: Prepare a 5- to 8-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation based on your analysis to share in class.

Include the following content in the presentation:

• What are trends in the labor market for the chosen labor group that you can identify for the last 10 years? Please provide the retrieved statistics.

• What factors affected the demand and supply for this labor group during the last 10 years? Research and report data available from Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and other peer reviewed sources.

• Why do actors and actresses earn so much compared to the chosen labor group?

• Why do hedge fund executives earn so much compared to the chosen labor group?

• In addition to wages, what other factors influence an individual to choose one job over another?

• What jobs do you think have the best mix of salary and other characteristics that individuals care about?

Cite a minimum of three peer-reviewed sources, not including the textbook and required economic data.

Format consistent with APA guidelines.