Question

The Bureau of Labor Shenanigans announces, of all adult Vulcans: 355,000,000 were employed, 29,000,000 were unemployed, and 219,000,000 were not in the labor force. Use the above information to calculate (Show all work in context):

a) The adult population
b) The labor force
c) The labor-force participation rate
d) The unemployment rate
e) True, false, uncertain, or not enough information?
The labor force participation rate increases while the unemployment rate decreases if 900,000 new job seekers from the same adult population now start looking for work? Explain with numerical evidence. (Hint: Critical Thinking)

Answer 1

The labor force participation rate will increase when 900,000 new job seekers enter the labor force. However, contrary to the question's assertion, the unemployment rate will also increase because these new job seekers are initially unemployed. Calculations using the given figures demonstrate these changes in rates.

Step-by-step explanation:

Regarding the question of whether the labor force participation rate increases while the unemployment rate decreases if 900,000 new job seekers from the same adult population start looking for work, we can use the provided data to analyze this scenario. Initially, there are 355,000,000 employed adults and 29,000,000 unemployed, making the labor force the sum of these two figures (384,000,000). If 900,000 new job seekers start looking for work, they will be added to the unemployed category, since they are not yet employed but are actively seeking employment.

The new labor force will be 384,000,000 (original labor force) + 900,000 (new job seekers) = 384,900,000. The labor force participation rate is then calculated by dividing the labor force by the total adult population (355,000,000 + 29,000,000 + 219,000,000 = 603,000,000) and multiplying by 100. The new rate is (384,900,000 / 603,000,000) * 100, which indeed shows an increase.

However, the unemployment rate, which is the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed, will also increase because the 900,000 new job seekers are considered unemployed until they find work. The new unemployment rate is (29,000,000 + 900,000) / 384,900,000 * 100. Thus, with the influx of new job seekers, while the labor force participation rate increases, the unemployment rate also increases.