Deck 15: Jobs and Unemployment

Question 1

Using the table above,the Current Population Survey classifies the group of individuals who are left after subtracting from the total population groups 1,2,3,4,5,and 6 as

A)not in the labor force.
B)the labor force.
C)employed.
D)unemployed.
E)discouraged workers.

Answer 1

not in the labor force.

Question 2

Phillip is a 22-year old who has no job and is available for work,but has not actively looked for a job in the last month.The Current Population Survey identifies Phillip as ________,________ the labor force,and ________ the working-age population.

A)unemployed;part of;part of
B)unemployed;part of;not part of
C)not unemployed;not part of;part of
D)not unemployed;not part of;not part of
E)not unemployed;part of;part of

Answer 2

not unemployed;not part of;part of

Question 3

The working-age population includes

A)those in jails and hospitals.
B)youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 if they are working at least part time.
C)employed and unemployed people over the age of 16.
D)only employed people over the age of 16.
E)people over the age of 16 who are in the Army.

Answer 3

employed and unemployed people over the age of 16.

Question 4

Which of the following is true?

A)To be classified as employed,you must be a full-time worker at a paid job.
B)To be classified as employed,you must work at least 20 hours per week at a paid job.
C)Part-time workers are all those who work less than 40 hours per week.
D)To be classified as employed,you must work at least 1 hour per week at a paid job or 15 hours or more as an unpaid worker in your family business.
E)If you are not working and turn down a job offer in the previous week,you are no longer classified as unemployed.

Question 5

Suppose a 23-year old graduate student is looking for a full-time job ,but has to take a part-time job instead.He or she will be categorized in the Current Population Survey as ________ when calculating the unemployment rate.

A)unemployed
B)employed
C)not in the labor force
D)a discouraged worker
E)underemployed

Question 6

In order to obtain the data used to calculate the unemployment rate,the Bureau of Labor Statistics

A)adds the number of people collecting unemployment insurance from each state.
B)adds the state unemployment claims reports.
C)uses a survey from 60,000 households.
D)adds together all the reports of layoffs from businesses.
E)uses a survey from 160,000 firms.

Question 7

After graduating from college,Yunis,age 22,started working for his parents' real estate business as an unpaid assistant.He works 25 hours a week helping manage rental units.In the Current Population Survey,Yunis is considered

A)part of the labor force and unemployed.
B)part of the labor force and employed.
C)not part of the labor force.
D)a discouraged worker.
E)part of the labor force but not part of the working-age population.

Question 8

Using the table above,the Current Population Survey classifies the group of individuals who are left after subtracting from the total population groups 1,2,and 3 as

A)the working-age population.
B)the labor force.
C)employed.
D)unemployed.
E)discouraged workers.

Question 9

Which of the following people would be classified as employed in the Current Population Survey?

A)Rich,who is working 20 hours a week but wants a full-time job
B)Misty,who just quit her job to return full time to school
C)April,who just graduated from college and is looking for work
D)Jason,who was laid off from work less than 6 months ago but who has stopped looking for work
E)Laura,who is unpaid but is working 10 hours a week in the family business she and her husband run

Question 10

An unpaid worker in a family business is classified as

A)not in the labor force.
B)employed no matter how many hours the person worked in the previous week.
C)unemployed no matter how many hours the person worked in the previous week.
D)employed if the person worked at least 15 hours in the previous week.
E)unemployed only if the person worked no hours in the previous week.

Question 11

In the Current Population Survey,a person is considered unemployed if the person

A)is without a job.
B)is working anything less than 40 hours per week.
C)is working without pay.
D)does not have a job and is actively looking for a job.
E)is working less than 20 hours per week.

Question 12

If KeKe,age 32,worked 12 hours as a paid employee the week before the Current Population Survey,KeKe is classified in the Current Population Survey as ________ when calculating the unemployment rate.

A)unemployed
B)employed
C)a discouraged worker
D)not in the labor force
E)underemployed

Question 13

If Brian,age 24,had no job but was available for work and had looked for a job the week before the survey,Brian is classified in the Current Population Survey as

A)unemployed.
B)employed.
C)a discouraged worker.
D)not in the labor force.
E)not in the working-age population.

Question 14

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)compiles information about employment by

A)performing a census of every household in the nation.
B)performing a quarterly survey 6,000,000 households.
C)performing a monthly survey of 60,000 households.
D)determining the average estimate of labor market specialists around the nation.
E)contacting each of the 50 states' Departments of Labor.

Question 15

The working-age population consists of all the people in the population

A)aged 16 and over.
B)aged 16 to 65.
C)aged 16 and over who are not in jail,hospital,or an institution or in the U.S.Armed Forces.
D)aged 21 and over who are not in jail,hospital,or an institution or in the U.S.Armed Forces.
E)who are employed plus the unemployed people.

Question 16

To be considered unemployed,a worker must have had

A)no employment during the week before the survey and be actively looking for a job.
B)part-time employment while actively looking for a full-time job.
C)no employment during the week before the survey and be actively looking for a job while a student.
D)no employment during the day before the survey and be actively looking for a job.
E)Both answers A and B are correct.

Question 17

The purpose of the Current Population Survey is to determine the

A)number of people in the population.
B)employment status of the population.
C)age structure of the population.
D)income level of the population.
E)prices consumers pay for the goods and services they buy.

Question 18

Rob is considered unemployed in the Current Population Survey if he

A)has looked for a job in the last four weeks but has not found a job.
B)has worked at least 1 hour but not more than 15 hours as a paid employee during the last week.
C)does not have a job and stopped looking for a job at least two months ago.
D)has a part-time job but would like a full-time job.
E)is in his last term of college before he graduates.

Question 19

If the number of people in the labor force ________,then ________.

A)increases;the labor force participation rate increases
B)increases;the unemployment rate definitely increases
C)decreases;the unemployment rate definitely decreases
D)decreases;the labor force participation rate increases
E)decreases,the unemployment rate does not change

Question 20

Using the table above,the Current Population Survey classifies the group of individuals obtained by adding groups 5 and 6 as

A)the working age population.
B)the labor force.
C)employed.
D)unemployed.
E)discouraged workers.

Question 21

The size of the labor force is

A)equal to the size of the population.
B)less than the number of employed workers if the number of unemployed workers is small enough.
C)less than the number of unemployed workers if the number of employed workers is small enough.
D)greater than the number of employed workers as long as there are some unemployed workers.
E)equal to the working-age population.

Question 22

The labor force is the

A)number of employed people plus the number of unemployed people.
B)total population divided by the number of employed people.
C)number of employed people in the working-age population.
D)working-age population minus the number of unemployed people.
E)number of employed people minus the number of unemployed people.

Question 23

Suppose the population is 300 million people,the labor force is 200 million people,the number of people employed is 185 million,and the working-age population is 170 million people.What is the unemployment rate?

A)92.5 percent
B)7.5 percent
C)8.8 percent
D)5 percent
E)20 percent

Question 24

Jane is a 25-year-old,full-time student.She works part time in her school library and is paid $7 an hour.She is considered to be

A)unemployed.
B)not in the labor force.
C)in the labor force but not working.
D)employed.
E)not in the working-age population because she is in college.

Question 25

Which of the following persons is NOT considered a part of the labor force?

A)Mary,who has a part-time job as a day care specialist
B)Lones,an unemployed mechanic looking for a new job
C)Jameson,an accountant who has been temporarily laid off during the holiday season
D)Desire,a wealthy hedge fund manager who just took early retirement
E)Lucy,who works 20 hours a week in her father's restaurant for no pay

Question 26

People over the age 16 with full-time jobs are considered to be

A)unemployed.
B)not in the labor force.
C)in the labor force and employed.
D)in the labor force unemployed.
E)in the working-age population only because they have full-time jobs.

Question 27

The unemployment rate equals 100 multiplied by the

A)number of people unemployed divided by the labor force.
B)number of people unemployed divided by the population.
C)number of people unemployed divided by the number of people employed.
D)labor force divided by the number of people unemployed.
E)number of people unemployed divided by the working-age population.

Question 28

The unemployment rate equals

A)(number of people employed ÷ working-age population)× 100.
B)(number of people unemployed ÷ labor force)× 100.
C)(labor force ÷ working-age population)× 100.
D)(number of people employed ÷ number of people age 16 and over)× 100.
E)(number of people unemployed ÷ number of people employed)× 100.

Question 29

The unemployment rate measures the percentage of

A)people who want full-time jobs,but can't find them.
B)the working-age population who can't find a job.
C)people in the labor force who can't find a job.
D)the working-age population that can't find a full-time job.
E)employed people who can't find a job.

Question 30

If a significant number of part-time workers successfully find full-time employment,then

A)the unemployment rate will fall.
B)the labor force participation rate will increase.
C)the unemployment rate will remain unchanged.
D)the unemployment rate will rise.
E)Both answers A and B are correct.

Question 31

If Jose is 22-years old,is available to work but does not have a job and made no specific efforts to find a job for the previous month,Jose is classified in the Current Population Survey as

A)unemployed.
B)employed.
C)not in the working-age population.
D)not in the labor force.
E)in the labor force but not in the working-age population.

Question 32

In calculating the unemployment rate,part-time workers over the age of 16 are counted as

A)employed.
B)unemployed.
C)not in the labor force.
D)employed if they are part-time workers for noneconomic reasons and unemployed if they are involuntary part-time workers.
E)not in the working-age population.

Question 33

The unemployment rate is the number of people unemployed divided by the

A)population,then multiplied by 100.
B)labor force participation rate,then multiplied by the population.
C)labor force,then multiplied by 100.
D)number of people employed,then multiplied by 100.
E)working-age population,then multiplied by 100.

Question 34

The labor force is defined as the number of people who

A)are employed plus the number of people who are unemployed.
B)are available and looking for work but are unable to find employment.
C)would like to have a job but have stopped seeking work.
D)would like to have a full-time job but are working part time.
E)are employed minus the number of people who are unemployed.

Question 35

The unemployment rate is the

A)number of unemployed people.
B)percentage of the population that does not have a job.
C)percentage of the working-age population that does not have a job.
D)percentage of the labor force that does not have a job.
E)percentage of employed people that does not have a job.

Question 36

The unemployment rate is equal to

A)(labor force ÷ population)× 100.
B)(number of employed people ÷ labor force)× 100.
C)(number of unemployed people ÷ labor force)× 100.
D)(number of unemployed people ÷ number of employed)× 100.
E)(number of unemployed people ÷ working-age population)× 100.

Question 37

Assume the U.S.population is 300 million.If 200 million people are of working age,125 million are employed,and 15 million are unemployed,what is the size of the labor force?

A)200 million
B)140 million
C)125 million
D)215 million
E)175 million

Question 38

The labor force consists of

A)the number of people who are employed.
B)the number of people who unemployed and who are actively seeking work.
C)the number of people in the working-age population who are employed or unemployed.
D)all people in the population aged 16 and over who are not in jail,a hospital,or an institution or in the U.S.Armed Forces.
E)the number of people who are employed minus the number of the people who are unemployed.

Question 39

The working-age population of people over the age of 16 can be divided into two groups,people

A)in the labor force and people looking for work.
B)in the labor force and people with a job.
C)looking for work and those in the U.S.Armed Forces.
D)in the labor force and people who are not in the labor force.
E)with a job and people actively seeking a job.

Question 40

The labor force includes people who
I.are less than 16 years of age.
Ii.are in institutions.
Iii.are actively seeking a job but do not have a job.

A)i only
B)i and iii
C)i and ii
D)iii only
E)i,ii,and iii

Question 41

In the table above,the unemployment rate is

A)50.0 percent.
B)15.0 percent.
C)10.0 percent.
D)4.8 percent.
E)5.0 percent.

Question 42

Using the data in the above table,the labor force is

A)140.0 million.
B)152.1 million.
C)154.2 million.
D)250.0 million.
E)127.9 million.

Question 43

If 160 million people are employed,15 million people are unemployed,and the population is 280 million people,the unemployment rate is

A)57 percent.
B)62.5 percent.
C)9.4 percent.
D)8.6 percent.
E)not possible to calculate without data on the labor force.

Question 44

From the table above,which gives data about the U.S.labor market in 1933,the labor force is

A)48 million.
B)60 million.
C)65 million.
D)100 million.
E)12 million.

Question 45

Suppose the population of Timmy Town is 1000 people and the working-age population is 800.If 200 of these people are unemployed,the unemployment rate in Timmy Town is

A)2 percent.
B)1/5 × 100.
C)1/8 × 100.
D)1/4 × 100.
E)There is not enough information provided to calculate the unemployment rate.

Question 46

In the table above,the number of unemployed people is

A)2,000.
B)1,000.
C)1,100.
D)11,000.
E)3,000.

Question 47

Suppose the working-age population is 500 million,the labor force is 200 million,and the unemployment rate is 15 percent.The number of unemployed people is

A)30 million.
B)75 million.
C)45 million.
D)105 million.
E)15 million.

Question 48

Using the table above,the labor force participation rate is

A)83.3 percent.
B)90.0 percent.
C)10.0 percent.
D)11.1 percent.
E)100 percent.

Question 49

In the table above,the size of the labor force is

A)80 million.
B)46 million.
C)42 million.
D)40 million.
E)34 million.

Question 50

Using the table above,the unemployment rate is

A)11.2 percent.
B)6.3 percent.
C)4.2 percent.
D)10 percent.
E)5.8 percent.

Question 51

In fall 2009,the population of the United States was 301 million,the working-age population was 235.7 million,the total number of people employed and unemployed was 154.9 million,and the total number of unemployed people was 14.7 million.What is the unemployment rate?

A)51 percent
B)6.2 percent
C)4.9 percent
D)9.5 percent
E)4.6 percent

Question 52

Using the table above,the working-age population is

A)155 million.
B)170 million.
C)195 million.
D)250 million.
E)220 million.

Question 53

Using the table above,the labor participation rate is

A)67 percent.
B)48 percent.
C)75 percent.
D)83 percent.
E)40 percent.

Question 54

Using the table above,the unemployment rate is

A)5.13 percent.
B)5.88 percent.
C)6.45 percent.
D)6.90 percent.
E)5.71 percent.

Question 55

In the table above,the unemployment rate is

A)12 percent.
B)10 percent.
C)8 percent.
D)6 percent.
E)11 percent.

Question 56

Using the table above,the number of people in the labor force is

A)145 million.
B)165 million.
C)175 million.
D)195 million.
E)185 million.

Question 57

Based on the above table,the unemployment rate is

A)10 percent.
B)11.1 percent.
C)7.1 percent.
D)5.4 percent.
E)8.6 percent.

Question 58

Based on the above table,the labor force participation rate is

A)71.4 percent.
B)82 percent.
C)53.6 percent.
D)75 percent.
E)64.3 percent.

Question 59

Using the data in the above table,the unemployment rate is

A)9.3 percent.
B)8.6 percent.
C)8.0 percent.
D)4.8 percent.
E)4.6 percent.

Question 60

Using the data in the above table,the labor force participation rate is

A)60.8 percent.
B)56 percent.
C)4.8 percent.
D)61.6 percent.
E)64.4 percent.

Question 61

A weakness that could be noted about the unemployment rate is that it

A)does not account for the underutilization of workers.
B)considers marginally attached workers as unemployed.
C)overestimates the number of part-time workers.
D)does not count part-time workers.
E)counts discouraged workers as employed.

Question 62

If the number of employed people is 150 million,the number of unemployed people is 50 million,and the working-age population equals 285 million people,the labor force participation rate is

A)70.2 percent.
B)81 percent.
C)17.5 percent.
D)25 percent.
E)52.6 percent.

Question 63

Which of the following would be considered a marginally attached worker?
I.Amy,who is working 20 hours per week at her father's business
Ii.Carl,who isn't working and has not looked for work in 3 months because he has been turned down for work when he last looked
Iii.Keke,who quit her job to take care of her daughter

A)ii only
B)i and ii
C)ii and iii
D)i only
E)i,ii,and iii

Question 64

A marginally attached worker
I.does not have a job and has not looked for one in the last month.
Ii.is available and willing to work.
Iii.must work at least 1 hour per week.

A)iii only
B)ii only
C)ii and iii
D)i and ii
E)i only

Question 65

If the working age population ________ and the labor force does not change,the ________.

A)increases;labor force participation rate will increase
B)increases;labor force participation rate will decrease
C)increases;unemployment rate will increase
D)decreases;unemployment rate will increase
E)decreases;labor force will increase

Question 66

The labor force participation rate is the

A)labor force divided by the working-age population,then multiplied by 100.
B)number of people employed divided by the labor force,then multiplied by 100.
C)labor force divided by the population,then multiplied by 100.
D)discouraged workers divided by the labor force,then multiplied by 100.
E)number of people employed divided by the population,then multiplied by 100.

Question 67

From the table above,which gives data about the U.S.labor market in 1933,the unemployment rate is

A)2 percent.
B)18 percent.
C)20 percent.
D)25 percent.
E)35 percent.

Question 68

From the table above,which gives data about the U.S.labor market in 1933,the labor force participation rate is

A)12 percent.
B)48 percent.
C)60 percent.
D)95 percent.
E)65 percent.

Question 69

If half of all unemployed individuals suddenly gave up looking for work,the unemployment rate would ________ and the labor force participation rate would ________.

A)decrease;decrease
B)decrease;increase
C)increase;decrease
D)increase;increase
E)There is not enough information to answer this question.

Question 70

A marginally attached worker is

A)a worker who is unhappy at his or her job.
B)a worker who is looking for a job but can't find one.
C)a worker who does not have a job and is available and wants one but has not made any efforts to find a job within the previous four weeks.
D)a person who only works part time but wants full-time work.
E)counted as unemployed in the official labor market statistics.

Question 71

If the working-age population is 20 million and labor force is 13 million,the labor force participation rate is

A)65 percent.
B)35 percent.
C)153 percent.
D)60 percent.
E)impossible to calculate because data on the number of employed workers is needed.

Question 72

In August of 2013,the number of employed persons in the United States was 144.2 million,the number of unemployed persons was 11.3 million,and the number of persons not in the labor force was 90.5 million.What was the labor force in August of 2013?

A)53.7 million
B)144.2 million
C)155.5 million
D)132.9 million
E)There is not enough information to answer this question.

Question 73

In August of 2013,the number of employed persons in the United States was 144.2 million,the number of unemployed persons was 11.3 million,and the number of persons not in the labor force was 90.5 million.What was the unemployment rate in August of 2013?

A)7.3%
B)7.8%
C)12.4%
D)8.5%
E)There is not enough information to answer this question.

Question 74

Suppose the U.S.population is 275 million.If 210 million people are of working age,135 million are employed,and 6 million are unemployed,what is the labor force participation rate?

A)67 percent
B)76 percent
C)49 percent
D)64 percent
E)51 percent

Question 75

Suppose that Mel (who is 27)is not working,but looked for a job as recently as 2 months ago.Mel would like a job and he is available for work.He is considered

A)unemployed.
B)a member of the labor force and unemployed.
C)a member of the labor force,but not unemployed.
D)a member of the working-age population
E)a marginally attached worker.

Question 76

In August of 2013,the number of employed persons in the United States was 144.2 million,the number of unemployed persons was 11.3 million,and the number of persons not in the labor force was 90.5 million.What was the working-age population in August of 2013?

A)155.5 million
B)234.7 million
C)246.0 million
D)101.8 million
E)There is not enough information to answer this question.

Question 77

A marginally attached worker is

A)a person who is not happy with his or her job.
B)someone who works part-time more than 25 hours per week but wants full-time work.
C)someone who does not have a job but is available and willing to work and has made specific but unsuccessful efforts to find a job during the past 4 weeks.
D)someone who does not have a job but is available and willing to work but has not made specific efforts to find a job during the past 4 weeks.
E)another name for an unemployed worker.

Question 78

The labor force participation rate is equal to

A)(labor force ÷ population)× 100.
B)(labor force ÷ working-age population)× 100.
C)(number of employed workers ÷ labor force)× 100.
D)(number of employed workers ÷ working-age population)× 100.
E)(number of employed workers ÷ population)× 100.

Question 79

In January of 2001,the population of the United States was 276.8 million,the working-age population was 210.2 million,the total number of people employed was 140 million,and the total number of people unemployed was 5.0 million.What was the labor force participation rate?

A)78 percent
B)56 percent
C)69 percent
D)90 percent
E)67 percent

Question 80

In August of 2013,the number of employed persons in the United States was 144.2 million,the number of unemployed persons was 11.3 million,and the number of persons not in the labor force was 90.5 million.What was the labor force participation rate in August of 2013?

A)92.7%
B)63.2%
C)58.2%
D)58.6%
E)There is not enough information to answer this question.