For April 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimates that the number of employed workers in the US was 148,523,000. The total number of workers who were not employed but were actively seeking work or waiting to be recalled from layoff was 8,549,000. The total number of workers who were not employed and were neither looking for work nor waiting to be recalled from layoff was 93,194,000.
a. Calculate the number of workers in the labor force and the adult working population.
b. Calculate the labor force participation rate and the unemployment rate.
c. Figure 2.1 in the lecture slides gives the same data, but for April 2013. Calculate the percentage change in the number of unemployed workers, the percentage change in the number of workers in the labor force, and the percentage change in the adult working population between April 2013 and April 2015.
d. Has the labor market improved between April 2013 and April 2015? Has it clearly improved, or is there a chance that it has not actually improved? Justify your answer. (Hint: Compare the labor force participation rate and the unemployment rate for April 2013 and April 2015).