Use the table to answer the question.
Total Population 1,000
Total Population Over 16 Years of Age 800
Total Labor Force 600
Total Employment 500
The table above gives population and employment numbers for a hypothetical country. What is the unemployment rate in this country? Round your answer to the nearest whole percent if necessary.
a
83%
b
17%
c
20%
d
10%
The unemployment rate can be calculated by subtracting the total employment (500) from the total labor force (600), and then dividing by the total labor force:
(600-500)/600 = 0.16666666666...
Converting this to a percentage and rounding to the nearest whole percent, we get:
16.7%
So the answer is (rounded to the nearest whole percent):
b) 17%
To find the unemployment rate, we need to calculate the number of unemployed individuals and divide it by the total labor force.
First, we calculate the number of unemployed individuals by subtracting the total employment from the total labor force:
Number of Unemployed = Total Labor Force - Total Employment
Number of Unemployed = 600 - 500
Number of Unemployed = 100
Next, we divide the number of unemployed individuals by the total labor force and multiply by 100 to get the unemployment rate as a percentage:
Unemployment Rate = (Number of Unemployed / Total Labor Force) x 100
Unemployment Rate = (100 / 600) x 100
Unemployment Rate ≈ 16.67%
Therefore, the unemployment rate in this country is approximately 17%. So the answer is (b) 17%.