Question

A) In part (a), enter your response as a whole number.

b) In part (b), round your response to one decimal place.

According to the News Wire, the unemployment rate in the country decreased by 2.5% last month, and the total workforce is 20 million. Determine the total number of unemployed individuals.

A) 200,000
B) 500,000
C) 1,500,000
D) 2,000,000

Answer 1

We calculate the total number of individuals affected by the unemployment rate decrease by first finding 2.5% of the 20 million total workforce, which equals 500,000 people. This means 500,000 fewer individuals are unemployed due to the decrease in the unemployment rate.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the total number of unemployed individuals when the unemployment rate decreases, we follow a two-step mathematical process using the total workforce and the change in percentage. The country's workforce is 20 million people, and the unemployment rate dropped by 2.5%.

Step 1: Calculate the percentage in terms of the workforce (2.5% of 20 million).

Step 2: Since a decrease in unemployment rate signifies that these individuals are no longer unemployed, we subtract this number from the previously unemployed.

Applying the calculations: 2.5% of 20 million is 0.025 * 20,000,000 = 500,000 people.

Therefore, the number of unemployed individuals decreased by 500,000.