Final answer:
The total direct labor cost budget for March for Quetzaltenango Candle Inc. is calculated by multiplying the total labor hours (68,500 hours needed for production) by the hourly labor rate ($15 per hour), resulting in a total cost of $1,027,500.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine the direct labor cost budget for March for Quetzaltenango Candle Inc., we will first calculate the total molding time required for the production of 685,000 candles. As each candle takes 6 minutes to mold, the total molding time is 685,000 candles × 6 minutes per candle. This calculation yields a result of 4,110,000 minutes of molding time.
Next, we convert the total molding minutes into hours, as the labor costs are given on a per hour basis. This is done by dividing the total minutes by 60 minutes per hour, giving us 4,110,000 minutes ÷ 60 minutes per hour = 68,500 hours of labor needed for the production of candles in March.
Finally, the total direct labor cost is calculated by multiplying the number of labor hours by the cost of labor per hour. With the molding labor cost at $15 per hour, the total labor cost budget for March is 68,500 hours × $15 per hour = $1,027,500.