Question

Suppose that in Figure 7-2, the number of people employed was to expand by 9.2 million, and the number of people unemployed was to rise by 7.1 million. What would be the new values of the labour force and of the unemployment rate?

Short answer

The new value of the labour force is$175$million and the unemployment rate is $8.57\%$

Step-by-step solution

introduction

Given,

Employed people$=150.8$million

People employed was to expand by $9.2$million

The number of people unemployed was to rise by $7.1$million

After expansion,

total employed role="math" localid="1651496282261" $\Rightarrow 150.8+9.2=160$million

total unemployed$\Rightarrow 7.9+7.1=15$million

explanation

Now,

Labour force = employed $+$unemployed

$\Rightarrow 160+15=175$million

Unemployment Rate = No. of Unemployed People / (No. of Employed Persons$+$No. of Unemployed Persons)

$$\begin{gathered} \Rightarrow \frac{15}{175}\times 100 \\ =8.57\% \end{gathered}$$

The unemployment rate is$8.57\%$