MacroeconomicsLesson 1 of 2 in the course Unemployment

Unemployment Measures, Hidden Joblessness, and Labor Surveys

5 flashcards · 5 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

Unemployment statistics are not based simply on counting everyone without a job. Economists first classify working-age people according to whether they are employed, unemployed, or outside the labor force. This lesson introduces those categories and shows how the unemployment rate is calculated.

People may be outside the labor force for many reasons. They may be retired, studying, caring for family, ill, taking a break between jobs, or unavailable to work. People who want a job but have stopped searching are also classified as outside the labor force under the standard definition.

All flashcards

What is hidden unemployment?
Labor-market hardship not fully represented in the official unemployment count.
Who is a discouraged worker?
Someone who wants a job but has stopped searching, often believing suitable work is unavailable.
What is underemployment?
Working in a job that does not use one's skills or is below one's qualifications.
What does the Current Population Survey measure?
People's labor-force status and related employment circumstances.
What does the establishment payroll survey measure?
Payroll jobs and related details such as hours and earnings.

Quiz questions

  1. Which survey is the basis for the monthly U.S. unemployment rate?Answer: The Current Population Survey (CPS).
  2. Which agencies are responsible for conducting the CPS and reporting its labor statistics, respectively?Answer: The Census Bureau conducts it; the BLS reports the statistics.
  3. Why can the establishment payroll survey's job count differ from the number of employed people?Answer: One person may hold more than one payroll job.
  4. How are discouraged workers classified under the standard labor-force categories?Answer: Outside the labor force if they have stopped actively searching.
  5. A person has a part-time job but wants full-time work. How are they counted in the official categories described here?Answer: Employed.

Based on Principles of Economics 3e by Steven A. Greenlaw, David Shapiro, Daniel MacDonald (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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