Unemployment Rate Calculation | CFA Level 1 Exam | Test Prep

Unemployment Rate Calculation

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Question

Given:

Population 50 million -

Number in the labor force 30 million

Number employed full time 20 million

Number employed part time 8 million

Number unemployed 2 million -

What is the unemployment rate of the economy?

Answers

Explanations

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A. B. C. D.

D

The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed people divided by the number of people in the labor force or: 2/20 = 6.7%.

To calculate the unemployment rate, we need to understand the components of the labor force and the definitions used in this context.

The labor force consists of individuals who are either employed or unemployed and actively seeking employment. It does not include individuals who are not working and not actively seeking employment (e.g., retired individuals, students, homemakers).

Given the information provided:

Population: 50 million Labor force: 30 million Number employed full time: 20 million Number employed part-time: 8 million Number unemployed: 2 million

To calculate the unemployment rate, we divide the number of unemployed individuals by the labor force and multiply by 100 to express it as a percentage.

Unemployment Rate = (Number of Unemployed / Labor Force) * 100

In this case, the number of unemployed individuals is 2 million, and the labor force is 30 million.

Unemployment Rate = (2 million / 30 million) * 100 ≈ 6.7 percent

Therefore, the unemployment rate of the economy is approximately 6.7 percent.

The correct answer is D. 6.7 percent.