Final answer:
The gross pay per pay period can be calculated by dividing the annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year.
Step-by-step explanation:
To calculate the gross pay per pay period, we can divide the annual salary by the number of pay periods in a year. In this case, the pay period is semimonthly, which means there are 24 pay periods in a year (12 months x 2). So, the gross pay per pay period is $71,290 / 24 = $2,970.42.
Therefore, the correct answer is A. $2,970.42.