Question

the towns of sawyer and thatcher each have a labor force of 1,200 people. in sawyer, 100 people were unemployed for the entire year, while the rest of the labor force was employed continuously. in thatcher, every member of the labor force was unemployed for 1 month and employed for 11 months. what is the average unemployment rate over the year in each of the two towns? (3%)

Answer 1

The average unemployment rate in both Sawyer and Thatcher is 8.33%, calculated based on the 1,200 members of the labor force and unemployment durations in each town.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the average unemployment rate in the towns of Sawyer and Thatcher, we need to consider the number of people unemployed and the total labor force in each town. In Sawyer, where the labor force is 1,200, 100 people were unemployed for the entire year. This gives us an unemployment rate of:

Unemployment Rate in Sawyer = (Number of Unemployed / Total Labor Force) * 100 = (100 / 1,200) * 100 = 8.33%

For Thatcher, where each member of the labor force was unemployed for 1 month, we can say that each person contributed 1/12 of unemployment over the year, given the labor force is also 1,200. So, the unemployment rate is:

Unemployment Rate in Thatcher = (Total Unemployed Time / (Total Labor Force * Total Time)) * 100 = ((1,200 * 1 month) / (1,200 * 12 months)) * 100 = (1,200 / 14,400) * 100 = 8.33%

Therefore, the average unemployment rate over the year is 8.33% for both towns.