Question

A town's employment statistics show that 855 of its residents were unemployed last month. This is a decrease of 25% from the previous month. How many residents were unemployed in the previous month?

Answer 1

Decrease of 25% means only 855 people? Okay, so you want to backtrack. If you divide by 25% you’re going to get what it was for a 75% decrease. So divide by .75 instead. 855/.75 = 1140 unemployed residents last month