Suppose the number of officially classified employed persons equals 80 million people; the number of discouraged workers is 12 million people; the number of stay at home spouses is 15 million people; the number of underemployed workers is 9 million people; the number of phantom unemployed persons is 5 million people; number of officially classified unemployed persons equals 20 million people and the civilian non-institutionalized population equals 150 million people.
(a) Based on this information, calculate the official unemployment rate to the second decimal place (hundredths place). Please show how you got your answer – meaning show your work. Remember to state your answer as a percent (including the percent symbol, since without the percent symbol, your answer becomes meaningless).
(b) In one factual sentence (without any opinion of whether you think your answer is high or low), please clearly state what information your answer for the unemployment rate in (a) above tells us.
(c) Now if the number of discouraged workers were reclassified as officially unemployed persons, how would this change the reported unemployment rate?
Again make sure that your unemployment rate number is reported to the second decimal place (hundredths place). Again, please show your work and present your answer as a percent.
(d) Based on your answers for (a) and (c) above, would you say that by the Bureau of Labor Statistics not counting discouraged workers as unemployed persons, that the reported unemployment rate tends to underestimate or overestimate the unemployment situation in the country? In your explanation, you must support your answer with your numbers from your answers for (a) and (c) above.
(e) Please explain who discouraged workers represent and what is it about discouraged workers that has the reported unemployment rate either underestimating or overestimating the unemployment situation in the country