Question 1

From 1989 to 2009, the unemployment rate in the United States

Accepted Answer

A)  was always lower than the unemployment rate in Japan. 
B)  almost always equaled the unemployment rate in Canada. 
C)  generally rose while the unemployment rate in the Eurozone fell. 
D)  was lower than the unemployment rate in the Eurozone. 
E)  was usually higher than the unemployment rate in Canada.

Question 2

During an recession, the duration of unemployment ________ and the unemployment rate is ________ the natural rate of unemployment.

Accepted Answer

A)  lengthens; greater than 
B)  lengthens; less than 
C)  shortens; greater than 
D)  shortens; equal to 
E)  does not change; equal to

Question 3

Full employment means that

Accepted Answer

A)  the unemployment rate is below 6 percent. 
B)  there is no cyclical unemployment. 
C)  the unemployment rate is zero. 
D)  the frictional unemployment rate is equal to the structural unemployment rate. 
E)  there is no frictional unemployment.

Question 4

In 2009, part-time workers for noneconomic reasons were about ________ of total employment and part-time workers for economic reasons were about ________ of total employment.

Accepted Answer

A)  4 percent; 25 percent 
B)  17 percent; 17 percent 
C)  2 percent; 12 percent 
D)  14 percent; 20 percent 
E)  14 percent; 6 percent

Question 5

Across developed and newly industrialized economies, since 1989 the United States has generally had

Accepted Answer

A)  a higher unemployment rate than Japan and Hong Kong and a lower unemployment rate than the Eurozone countries. 
B)  a lower unemployment rate than Japan and Hong Kong. 
C)  a higher unemployment rate than the Eurozone countries. 
D)  the same unemployment rate as Canada. 
E)  a lower unemployment rate than Hong Kong and a higher unemployment rate than Japan and the Eurozone countries.

Question 6

Suppose the working-age population is 150 million, the labor force is 125 million, and employment is 120 million.
a. What is the unemployment rate?
b. Now suppose that 2 million students graduate from college and begin to look for jobs.What is the new unemployment rate if none of the students have found jobs yet?
c. Suppose that all 2 million students find jobs.What is the unemployment rate now?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Suppose the working-age population is 150 million,...

Question 7

Which is true concerning U-2?
i. It does not count marginally attached workers as unemployed.
ii. It counts as unemployed workers who were laid off.
iii. It is smaller than U-3.

Accepted Answer

A)  i only. 
B)  i and ii. 
C)  i and iii. 
D)  ii and iii. 
E)  i, ii and iii.

Question 8

In 2009, real GDP in the United States was below potential GDP.This fact definitely means that

Accepted Answer

A)  the unemployment rate was nearing 10 percent. 
B)  the unemployment rate was above the natural unemployment rate. 
C)  the economy was in an expansion. 
D)  cyclical unemployment had been decreasing. 
E)  frictional unemployment was negative.

Question 9

The unemployment rate is equal to

Accepted Answer

A)  (labor force ÷ population) × 100. 
B)  (number of employed people ÷ labor force) × 100. 
C)  (number of unemployed people ÷ labor force) × 100. 
D)  (number of unemployed people ÷ number of employed) × 100. 
E)  (number of unemployed people ÷ working-age population) × 100.

Question 10

Which of the following correctly describes job leavers?
i. Job leavers make up the largest portion of the unemployed.
ii. The number of job leavers fluctuates less than other types of unemployed people.
iii. The number of job leavers during the 2008-09 recession topped 6 percent of the labor force.

Accepted Answer

A)  ii only. 
B)  i, ii and iii. 
C)  ii and iii. 
D)  i only. 
E)  i and iii.

Question 11

Which of the following people would be classified as employed in the Current Population Survey?

Accepted Answer

A)  Rich, who is working 20 hours a week but wants a full-time job 
B)  Misty, who just quit her job to return full time to school 
C)  April, who just graduated from college and is looking for work 
D)  Jason, who was laid off from work less than 6 months ago but who has stopped looking for work 
E)  Laura, who is unpaid but is working 10 hours a week in the family business she and her husband run

Question 12

$$\begin{array}{l}
\text { Labor Market Flows }\
\begin{array} { l c } 
\quad \text { During 2009 } & \text { Number of People } \
\hline \text { Hires and recalls } & 1,000 \
\text { Job losers } & 500 \
\text { Job leavers } & 300 \
\text { Entrants } & 200 \
\text { Reentrants } & 300 \
\text { Withdraw als } & 300
\end{array}
\end{array}$$
-On December 31, 2008, on a remote northern island there were 18,000 people employed, 2,000 people unemployed, and 5,000 people not in the labor force.The table above gives information taken from a labor survey on this island.The unemployment rate between December 2008 and December 2009

Accepted Answer

A)  increases. 
B)  decreases. 
C)  increases then decreases. 
D)  does not change. 
E)  cannot be calculated without information about the working-age population.

Question 13

Suppose Andy is laid off from the automobile plant because of slow automobile sales.Andy is looking for a new job.Andy is

Accepted Answer

A)  a discouraged worker. 
B)  a job loser. 
C)  a job leaver. 
D)  not in the labor force. 
E)  a withdrawal.

Question 14

When the unemployment rate is ________ the natural unemployment rate, real GDP is ________ potential GDP.

Accepted Answer

A)  below; above 
B)  above; the same as 
C)  the same as; below 
D)  the same as; above 
E)  above; above

Question 15

Full employment occurs when

Accepted Answer

A)  the unemployment rate is zero. 
B)  the cyclical unemployment rate is zero. 
C)  the frictional unemployment rate is zero. 
D)  the seasonal unemployment rate is zero. 
E)  the structural unemployment rate is zero.

Question 16

As a percentage of total employment, in the United States the percentage of part-time workers

Accepted Answer

A)  is usually between 15 percent and 20 percent. 
B)  has fallen from over 25 percent in 1987 to just over 12 percent in 2009. 
C)  typically falls by about 5 percentage points during recessions. 
D)  was about 20 percentage points higher in 2009 than in 1999. 
E)  is usually between 40 percent and 45 percent.

Question 17

After graduating from college, Yunis, age 22, started working for his parent's real estate business as an unpaid assistant.He works 25 hours a week helping manage rental units .In the Current Population Survey, Yunis is considered

Accepted Answer

A)  part of the labor force and unemployed. 
B)  part of the labor force and employed. 
C)  not part of the labor force. 
D)  a discouraged worker. 
E)  part of the labor force but not part of the working-age population.

Question 18

Potential GDP is

Accepted Answer

A)  the value of the maximum amount of output that can be produced at any given time. 
B)  the amount of real GDP that the economy would produce if it were at full employment of all resources. 
C)  another name for real GDP. 
D)  the amount of real GDP that the economy would produce if the unemployment rate was zero. 
E)  the amount of real GDP that the economy would produce if all unemployment was cyclical unemployment.

Question 19

Suppose the population is 300 million people, the labor force is 200 million people, the number of people employed is 185 million, and the working-age population is 170 million people.What is the unemployment rate?

Accepted Answer

A)  92.5 percent 
B)  7.5 percent 
C)  8.8 percent 
D)  5 percent 
E)  20 percent

Question 20

$\begin{array}{cccc}
\begin{array}{c}
\text { Total } \
\text { Population } \
\text { (millions) }
\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}
\text { Currently } \
\text { Employed } \
\text { (millions) }
\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}
\text { Not Working and } \
\text { Looking for Work } \
\text { ( millions) }
\end{array} & \begin{array}{c}
\text { Want to Work } \
\text { But No Longer } \
\text { (millions) }
\end{array} \
\hline 80 & 40 & 2 & 4
\end{array}$
-In the table above, the size of the labor force is

Accepted Answer

A)  80 million. 
B)  46 million. 
C)  42 million. 
D)  40 million. 
E)  34 million.

Exam 6: Jobs and Unemployment