Assignment

Question 1

Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), graph the monthly unemployment rate from Jan 2004 to present.

Question 2

Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov), graph the monthly inflation rate from Jan 2004 to present.

Question 3
A country with a population of eight million adults has five million employed, 500,000 unemployed, and the rest of the adult population is out of the labor force.

a) What's the unemployment rate?
b) What share of population is in the labor force?
c) Create a pie chart that divides the adult population into these three groups.

Question 4

Calculate the requested piece of information using the following information.

a) Civilian labor force using

• Population: 300,000,000 (civilian, non-institutional)
• Participation rate: 75.0%
• Employed: 200,000,000 people
• Unemployed: 25,000,000 people

b) Unemployment rate using

• Population: 250,000,000
• Participation rate: 50%
• Employed: 100,000,000 people

c) Participation rate using

• Population: 500,000,000
• Employed: 300,000,000
• Unemployed: 100,000,000

Question 5

The basket of goods below is an approximation for a person's living expenses in a given year.

a) Using 2013 as the base year,
a. Calculate the price index
b. Calculate the rate of inflation
b) Using 2014 as the base year,
a. Calculate the price index
b. Calculate the rate of inflation

Question 6

Consider sticky wages. Do you think it is rational for workers to prefer sticky wages to wage cuts, when the consequence of sticky wages is unemployment for some workers? Why or why not?

Question 7

If inflation rises unexpectedly by 5%, indicate for each of the following why the economic actor is helped, hurt, or unaffected:

a) A union member with a COLA wage contract.
b) Someone with a large stash of cash in a safe deposit box.
c) A bank lending money at a fixed rate of interest.
d) A person who is not due to receive a pay raise for another 11 months.