THE SUPPLY SIDE OF THE ECONOMY: UNEMPLOYMENT, WAGES,
PRICES, INFLATION
Labor Market
- What indicators should we look at to see whether the national employment situation is
“bad” or “good”?
- Is it true that people who are not working are generally counted as unemployed?
- How is the labor market performance of the US?
Snapshot
, Measuring Unemployment
Unemployment Rate:
Number of Unemployed
Labor Force
1. Which institution is responsible for measuring this?
BLS (the Bureau of Labor Statistics) interviews about 60,000 households every month
2. Who can be classified as unemployed?
3. What other measures are available for capturing under-employment?
Overview of the labor market
(1) Population → institutionalized, non-working age people or noninstitutionalized &
working age population (16-64)
(2) noninstitutionalized working age → labor force or out of labor force
(3) Labor force → employed or unemployed
(4) Not in labor force → not want work or want work
PRICES, INFLATION
Labor Market
- What indicators should we look at to see whether the national employment situation is
“bad” or “good”?
- Is it true that people who are not working are generally counted as unemployed?
- How is the labor market performance of the US?
Snapshot
, Measuring Unemployment
Unemployment Rate:
Number of Unemployed
Labor Force
1. Which institution is responsible for measuring this?
BLS (the Bureau of Labor Statistics) interviews about 60,000 households every month
2. Who can be classified as unemployed?
3. What other measures are available for capturing under-employment?
Overview of the labor market
(1) Population → institutionalized, non-working age people or noninstitutionalized &
working age population (16-64)
(2) noninstitutionalized working age → labor force or out of labor force
(3) Labor force → employed or unemployed
(4) Not in labor force → not want work or want work
