Identify and explain the different groups in the US labor force.
The US labor force includes people age 16 and older who are employed and people who are unemployed but actively seeking and available for work. Employed people have jobs, including those who are temporarily absent from work. Unemployed people do not have jobs but have recently looked for work and are available to take a job. People who are neither employed nor actively looking for work are not counted as part of the labor force; they are considered outside the labor force.
Using complete sentences, briefly describe the relationship between the GDP and the business cycle.
GDP measures the value of goods and services produced in the economy, so changes in GDP reflect changes in economic activity. GDP generally rises during an expansion and may fall during a contraction or recession. The business cycle describes these recurring ups and downs in economic activity. Economists use GDP to help identify the cycle’s expansions, peaks, contractions, and troughs.
The final dollar value of all the goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year is the _________.
In four or more sentences, explain how the US unemployment rate is determined.
The unemployment rate is the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed. To calculate it, the number of unemployed people is divided by the total labor force, and the result is multiplied by 100. The labor force includes people who are employed as well as people without jobs who are available for work and have actively looked for a job recently. People who are not working and are not actively looking for work are generally not counted as unemployed or included in the labor force.
A person who is working part-time when full-time work is desired is known as __________.
Using four or more sentences, explain the purpose of the consumer price index (CPI).
The consumer price index (CPI) measures changes over time in the prices consumers pay for a representative basket of goods and services. It is used to track consumer-price inflation and changes in the cost of living. When the CPI rises, consumers generally need more money to buy the same basket of items, so the purchasing power of money has fallen. The CPI also helps governments, businesses, and workers understand price trends. It is sometimes used to adjust wages, Social Security benefits, and other payments for inflation.
Expansion, peak, recession, and trough are all periods of the __________.
At any given time, the group of people age 16 years and older who are willing and able to work is known as the __________.
The percentage of the US labor force that is unemployed is known as the __________.
The __________ reflects the ups and downs of the nation’s real GDP.
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