I am working a percent change word problem- 340 employees total and 56 laid off.? percent of decrease in employees.
340-56= 284
284 divided by 340 = 0.835 = 83%
the book has an answer of 16%
what am I missing or is the book incorrect?
The book is correct. They are asking for the % of decrease, NOT what fraction are left.
56/340 are laid off. That is a reduction of 14/85 = 16.47%
I see what you are saying, but how do I work this problem using the percent increase/decrease formula ?
Use the correct formula.
Percent decrease = (x1 - x2)/x1 x 100, where
x1 is the original value and x2 is the new value, which is less if there is a decrease.
To calculate the percent change in the number of employees, you need to find the difference between the original number of employees and the new number, and then express that difference as a percentage of the original number.
In your case, there were originally 340 employees and 56 were laid off. So, the new number of employees is 340 - 56 = 284.
To find the percent change, you need to calculate the difference between the original and new numbers: 340 - 284 = 56.
Now, divide this difference by the original number (340) and multiply by 100 to get the percentage:
(56 / 340) * 100 = 16.47%
Therefore, the correct answer is approximately 16%.
It seems like there was an error in your calculation or misunderstanding of the question. The book's answer of 16% is correct based on the given information.