1, Go to the web site of the Bureau of labor Statistics ( http://www.bls.gov). What is the national unemployment rate right now? Find the unemployment rate for demographic group that best fits a description of you (for example, based on age, sex, and race). Is it higher or lower than the national average? Why do you think this is so?

2, As shown in the table below, the overall labor-force participation rate of men declined between 1970 and 1990. This overall decline reflects different patterns for different are, groups, however, as shown in the following table:

            All men        Men 16-24       Men 25-54       Men 55 and over

1970    80%                   69%                 96%                 56%

1990                               72                    93                    40

Which group experienced the largest decline?  Show your calculations.  Given this information, what factor may have played an important role in the decline in overall male labor-force participation over this period?

3, Between 1997 and 1998, total U.S employment increased by 2.1 million workers, but the number of unemployed workers decline by only 0.5 million. How are these numbers consistent with each other? Why might one expect a reduction in the number of people counted as unemployed to be smaller than the increase in the number of people employed?

4, Are the following worker more likely to experience short-term or long-term unemployment? Explain.

A)    A construction worker laid off because of bad weather

B)    A manufacturing worker who loses her job at a plant in an isolated area

C)    A stagecoach-industry worker laid off because of competition from railroads

D)    A short-order cook who loses his job when a new restaurant opens across the street

E)     An expert welder with little formal education who loses her job when the company installs automatic welding machinery