Question

If the number of employed persons equals 180 million, the number of unemployed persons equals 15 million, and the number of persons over age 16 in the population equals 210 million, the unemployment rate equals ____ and the labor force participation rate equals ____.

Answer 1

Answer:

$\text{Unemployment rate}\approx 7.7\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}\approx 92.9\%$

Step-by-step explanation:

We have been given that the number of employed persons equals 180 million. The number of unemployed persons equals 15 million, and the number of persons over age 16 in the population equals 210 million. We are asked to find the unemployment rate and the labor force participation rate.

$\text{Unemployment rate}=\frac{\text{Number of unemployed person}}{\text{Labor force}}\times 100\%$

We know that labor force is equal to employed population plus unemployed population.

$\text{Unemployment rate}=\frac{\text{15 million}}{\text{180 million + 15 million}}\times 100\%$

$\text{Unemployment rate}=\frac{\text{15 million}}{\text{195 million}}\times 100\%$

$\text{Unemployment rate}=0.0769230769\times 100\%$

$\text{Unemployment rate}=7.69230769\%$

$\text{Unemployment rate}\approx 7.7\%$

Therefore, the unemployment rate is approximately 7.7%.

$\text{Labor force participation rate}=\frac{\text{Labor force}}{\text{Total eligible population}}\times 100\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}=\frac{\text{195 million}}{\text{210 million}}\times 100\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}=\frac{195}{210}\times 100\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}=0.9285714285714286\times 100\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}=92.85714285714286\%$

$\text{Labor force participation rate}\approx 92.9\%$

Therefore, the labor force participation rate is approximately 92.9%.