Question

Imagine a hypothetical economy with a population of 100 people, 80 of which over sixteen. Forty eight of these people who are working and twelve people who are willing, able and looking for work cannot find jobs. The unemployment rate in this economy is____________ % (enter percentage as a whole number, not a decimal, no percentage sign). S

Suppose that 10 of those unemployed people get discouraged and give up looking for work. Now, the unemployment rate is __________% (enter percentage as a whole number, not a decimal, no percentage sign).

Answer 1

a) unemployment rate = 15

b) unemployment rate = 2.5

Step-by-step explanation:

unemployed people are those who are willing and available to work and have actively been seeking a job in the past four weeks. This accurately describes the 12 people who are willing, able and looking for work but cannot find jobs. To calculate the unemployment rate in percentage, the following formula is used:

`unemployment\ rate = (number\ of\ unemployed)/(labour\ force) * 100\\`

Where:

a) Number of unemployed = 12

Labour force = 80 (number of people over 16 years of age)

`\therefore unemployment\ rate = (12)/(80) * 100 = 0.15 * 100 = 15\\`

b) if 10 of the unemployed people get discouraged and give up looking for work, the number of unemployed becomes 2 persons, (12 - 10 = 2).

`\therefore unemployment\ rate = (2)/(80) * 100 = (200)/(80) = 2.5`