Format of the Project:

The paper should be written in APA style Research Paper format.

Note that Use of APA Citation Methodology is required for all parts of the assignment

Written projects must be:

1. Typed, double-spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, with margins no wider than one inch
2. Have footnotes or end notes, with correct citations
3. Have a bibliography of sources used
4. Include, for each entry, the author, title, city and state of publisher, publisher’s name, year, and page numbers

DATA EXERCISE  

Consists of three parts

Part 1: The Unemployment Rate

Complete the following exercise

Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web Site http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm . Select Employment Situation Summary.

Write a report (1 – 2 pages double spaced) in your own words to answer the questions:

1. What month (and year) is summarized? What was the unemployment rate for that month? How does that rate compare with the rate in the previous month?

1. What were the unemployment rates for adult women, teenagers, blacks, Hispanics, and whites? How did these rates compare with those a month earlier?
2. What factors make it difficult to determine the unemployment rate?
3. Why is unemployment an economic problem?
4. What are the noneconomic effects of unemployment?
5. Who loses from unemployment?
6. Please analyze and discuss the significance of the data that you received for this Data exercise. Reflect on what you have learned from this exercise.

Part 2: The Inflation Rate

Visit the Bureau of Labor Statistics Web Site,

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm . Select Consumer Price Index Summary.

Write a report (1 – 2 pages double spaced) in your own words to answer the questions:

1. What month (and year) is summarized? What was CPIU for that month?
2. What was the rate of inflation (percentage change in the CPIU) for the month? How does that rate of inflation compare with the rate in the previous month?
3. Which two categories of goods or services had the greatest price increase for the month?
4. Which two categories of goods or services had the lowest price increase (or greatest price decrease) for the month?
5. Who loses from inflation?
6. Who benefits from inflation?
7. Please analyze and discuss the significance of the data that you received for this Data exercise. Reflect on what you have learned from this exercise.

Part 3: Unemployment Data by Labor Force Groups and Duration

Write a report (1 – 2 pages double-spaced) in your own words about the tables and graphs 1-3     (see below).

In this paper consider, but do not be limited to the following:

1. Which years had the highest and lowest unemployment rates? How do the rates compare among these groups?
2. Compare the unemployment rates by educational attainment. How do the rates compare among these groups? What relationship, if any, do you find?
3. Compare the distribution of unemployment by duration over these years. Which years had the highest and lowest unemployment duration? What relationship, if any, do you find?
4. Demographic studies show that the proportion of teenagers and minorities in the U.S. population is likely to increase in the near future. In your opinion, what implications, if any, will this trend have on the natural rate of unemployment?
5. Please analyze and discuss the significance of the data that you received for this Data exercise. Reflect on what you have learned from this exercise.

 

Table 1. Civilian unemployment rate by sex and age, 2000-2018 (Unemployed as percent of civilian labor force in group specified)

Year	By sex and age
	Men  20 years  and  over	Women   20 years  and  over	Both sexes 16–19
2000	3.3	3.6	13.1
2001	4.2	4.1	14.7
2002	5.3	5.1	16.5
2003	5.6	5.1	16.5
2004	5.0	4.9	17.0
2005	4.4	4.6	16.6
2006	4.0	4.1	15.4
2007	4.1	4.0	15.7
2008	5.4	4.9	18.7
2009	9.6	7.5	24.3
2010	9.8	8.0	25.9
2011	8.7	7.9	24.4
2012	7.5	7.3	24.0
2013	7.0	6.5	22.9
2014	5.7	5.6	19.6
2015	4.9	4.8	16.9
2016	4.5	4.4	15.7
2017	4.0	4.0	14.0
2018	3.6	3.5	12.9

 

 

Table 2. Civilian unemployment rate by education attainment (25 years & over), 2000-2018 (Unemployed as percent of civilian labor force in group specified)

Year	By educational attainment (25 years & over)
	Less than a high school diploma	High school graduates, no college	Some college or associate degree	Bachelor’s degree and higher 4
2000	6.3	3.4	2.7	1.7
2001	7.2	4.2	3.3	2.3
2002	8.4	5.3	4.5	2.9
2003	8.8	5.5	4.8	3.1
2004	8.5	5.0	4.2	2.7
2005	7.6	4.7	3.9	2.3
2006	6.8	4.3	3.6	2.0
2007	7.1	4.4	3.6	2.0
2008	9.0	5.7	4.6	2.6
2009	14.6	9.7	8.0	4.6
2010	14.9	10.3	8.4	4.7
2011	14.1	9.4	8.0	4.3
2012	12.4	8.3	7.1	4.0
2013	11.0	7.5	6.4	3.7
2014	9.0	6.0	5.4	3.2
2015	8.0	5.4	4.5	2.6
2016	7.4	5.2	4.1	2.5
2017	6.5	4.6	3.8	2.3
2018	5.6	4.1	3.3	2.1

 

 

Table 3. Unemployment by duration, 2000–2018 (Thousands of persons)

Year	Unemployment	Duration of unemployment
		Less than 5 weeks	5–14 weeks	15–26 weeks	27 weeks and over	Average (mean) duration (weeks)	Median duration (weeks)
2000	5,692	2,558	1,815	669	649	12.6	5.9
2001	6,801	2,853	2,196	951	801	13.1	6.8
2002	8,378	2,893	2,580	1,369	1,535	16.6	9.1
2003	8,774	2,785	2,612	1,442	1,936	19.2	10.1
2004	8,149	2,696	2,382	1,293	1,779	19.6	9.8
2005	7,591	2,667	2,304	1,130	1,490	18.4	8.9
2006	7,001	2,614	2,121	1,031	1,235	16.8	8.3
2007	7,078	2,542	2,232	1,061	1,243	16.8	8.5
2008	8,924	2,932	2,804	1,427	1,761	17.9	9.4
2009	14,265	3,165	3,828	2,775	4,496	24.4	15.1
2010	14,825	2,771	3,267	2,371	6,415	33.0	21.4
2011	13,747	2,677	2,993	2,061	6,016	39.3	21.4
2012	12,506	2,644	2,866	1,859	5,136	39.4	19.3
2013	11,460	2,584	2,759	1,807	4,310	36.5	17.0
2014	9,617	2,471	2,432	1,497	3,218	33.7	14.0
2015	8,296	2,399	2,302	1,267	2,328	29.2	11.6
2016	7,751	2,362	2,226	1,158	2,005	27.5	10.6
2017	6,982	2,270	2,008	1,017	1,687	25.0	10.0
2018	6,314	2,170	1,876	917	1,350	22.7	9.3