Question

Suppose 5 million people are unemployed, 29 million are employed, 1 million are discouraged workers, 7 million are underemployed, and the adult population is 60 million. How many are in the labor force?

(A) 5 million
(B) 12 million
(C) 27 million
(D) 30 million
(E) 34 million

Answer 1

To find the number of people in the labor force, subtract the number of discouraged workers and underemployed from the total number of employed and unemployed individuals. The number of people in the labor force is 21.5 million.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the number of people in the labor force, we need to subtract the number of discouraged workers and the number of underemployed from the total number of employed and unemployed individuals.

The number of discouraged workers and underemployed is 1 million + 7 million = 8 million.

The number of people in the labor force is 29 million (employed) + 500,000 (unemployed) - 8 million (discouraged workers and underemployed) = 21.5 million. Therefore, option (C) 27 million is the correct answer.