In 2004, the number of unemployed people in a country decreased from 8.8 million to 8.1 million, while the labor force increased from 146.5 million to 147.4 million.By how much did the unemployment rate decrease?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The unemployment rate is calculated as (number of unemployed people / labor force) * 100. In 2004, the initial unemployment rate was (8.8 million / 146.5 million) * 100 = 6.01%. The final unemployment rate was (8.1 million / 147.4 million) * 100 = 5.49%. The decrease in the unemployment rate was 6.01% - 5.49% = 0.52 percentage points, which rounds to 0.5 percentage points.

In 2004, the Number of Unemployed People in a Country