Question

In 2016 the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 62.2 million people over age 25 whose highest level of education was a high school degree or equivalent. Of these, 33.7 million were employed and 1.8 million were unemployed. What were the labor-force participation rate and the unemployment rate for this group?

Answer 1

labor-force participation rate = 57 %

Unemployment rate = 5.1 %

Step-by-step explanation:

Given :

Adult population = 62.2 million

Employed population = 33.7 million

Unemployed population = 1.8 million

Therefore labor force can be calculated by = ( Employed population + Unemployed population )

= 33.7 + 1.8

= 35.5 million

Thus labor-force participation rate = ( Labor Force / Adult Population ) x 100

= ( 35.5 / 62.2 ) x 100

= 57.07

~ 57 percent

Now,

Unemployment rate = ( Unemployed / Labor Force) x 100

= ( 1.8 / 35.5 ) x 100

= ( 1.8 / 35.5 ) x 100

= 5.07

~ 5.1

Therefore, labor-force participation rate = 57 %

Unemployment rate = 5.1 %