Chapter 5 Unemployment

LECTURE VIDEO学习视频3:

Does the Unemployment Rate Measure What We Want It To?

The u-rate is not a perfect indicator of joblessness or the health of the labor market.

It excludes discouraged workers. 

Definition of discouraged workers: individuals who would like to work but have given up looking for a job. They are classified as “not in the labor force” rather than “unemployed”.

It does not distinguish between full-time and part-time work, or people working part time because full-time jobs not available.

Some people misreport their work status in the BLS survey to qualify for government assistance.

Despite these issues, the u-rate is still a very useful barometer of the labor market & economy.

PRACTICE 习题3：

题干：

In each of the following cases, what happens to the u-rate?对失业率有何影响？ Does the u-rate give an accurate impression of what’s happening in the labor market?失业率是否有准确反映劳动力市场的真实状况？

（1）Sue lost her job and begins looking for a new one. 

（2）Jon, a steelworker who has been out of work since his mill closed last year, becomes discouraged and gives up looking for work. 

（3）Sam, the sole earner in his family of 5, just lost his $80,000 job as a research scientist.  Immediately, he takes a part-time job at McDonald’s until he can find another job in his field. 

作答：

no.	u-rate  (rise/decline/unchanged)	the labor market  (better/worse/unaffected)	Does the u-rate tell the truth? (Yes/No)
(1)
(2)
(3)