Question

In​ March, 2006 the labor department of the country of Jobland determined that the size of the labor force was 100 million out of which 92 million were employed. In May​ 2006, the labor department determined that 1.5 million people became​ "discouraged workers" in April.

Assuming that no new jobs were created between March and​ April, calculate the unemployment rate for March and April.
Jobland unemployment rate in March​ =____________.
nothing percent. ​(Enter your response rounded to one decimal​ place.)

Answer 1

a). Unemployment rate in March=8%

b). Unemployment rate in April=9.4%

Step-by-step explanation:

a).

The unemployment rate can be expressed as;

R=P/L

where;

R=unemployment rate

P=number of unemployed persons

L=labor force

In our case;

R=unknown

P=number of unemployed persons=labor force-number of employed persons

P=100-92=8 million

L=100 million

replacing;

R=8/100=0.08×100=8%

The unemployment rate in March=8%

b).Unemployment rate for April

Unemployment rate={(total unemployed+discouraged workers)/(labor force+discouraged workers)}×100

total unemployed=8 million

discouraged workers=1.5 million

labor force=100 million

replacing;

Unemployment rate=(8+1.5)/(100+1.5)=(9.5/101.5)×100=9.4%

Unemployment rate in April=9.4%