Assignment:
This is assignment is designed to give you experience finding labor market statistics and other information, analyzing them, presenting them graphically and writing them up.
Instructions:
Choose one US state
· Virginia is excluded because it will be used as an example in the guest lectures
· California is excluded - you need to look further afield
The assignment has various sections. The points for each section are laid out below.
Section and Requirements
Introduction
Briefly introduce the state, giving the population size, labor force participation rate, unemployment rate and percentage of workers who are members of a labor union (for each statistic, compare it to the national average).
Briefly outline the demographic composition of the state by race/ethnicity and immigrant status.
Key Industries
1) Create a graph that shows the breakdown of employment in the state by industry
2) Identify one industry that is in decline and describe the reasons for the decline
3) Identify one industry that is growing rapidly and describe the reasons for the growth
Labor Force and Unemployment
In regard to trends or group differences in labor force participation, unemployment or wages, create two graphs that tell a story that is meaningful for your state. In words, describe what the graph is showing and also provide an explanation.
Legislative Environment
What policies does this state have regarding minimum wages, paid leave, mandatory breaks and labor unions? Do these regulations tend to favor companies or workers?
Conclusion
In your opinion, how healthy is the labor market in this state relative to the national labor market? Give it a score out of ten and explain the reasons behind your choice.
References: You will need to include in-text citations and a reference page to clarify where you found your information. This page has helpful tips on citing data: https://libguides.lib.msu.edu/citedata. Please chose a referencing style and stick to it consistently.
All graphs (and tables) must be created by YOUusing raw data. You can use excel or another program. Please keep your working files as we will check in on graphs or tables that look like they may have been copied from another source rather than created for this assignment.
Please structure the assignment as a report, with clear sub-headings. Use sentences rather than bullet points. The report should not be longer than 4 pages in length, not including a cover page or references.