Exam 6: Measuring Inflation and Unemployment

Suppose the market basket of goods and services cost $3,500 in 1996 but today costs $4,250. Using 1996 as the base year, the consumer price index for today is:

The Census Bureau surveys households for employment status, while the Labor Department focuses on the payrolls of businesses and government agencies to determine employment totals.

In 2012, the group with the lowest unemployment rate in the United States was:

Most economists agree that _____ unemployment is the area in which public policymakers can have their greatest impact.

(Table) The associated table provides a hypothetical bundle of goods. If 2014 is selected as the base year, the economy is experiencing _____ in 2017. Product Apples (5-lb. bag) 10 11 12 \ 3.00 \ 4.00 \ 4.25 Coffee beans (1-lb. bag) 50 50 55 \ 8.00 \ 9.00 \ 10.00 Cereal (28-oz. box) 20 25 29 \ 3.50 \ 3.75 \ 3.75

When an economy is going through disinflation:

Unemployment rates over the past 50 years have tended to hover between:

Unemployed workers who voluntarily quit their jobs to search for a better position are categorized as _____ unemployed.

Structural and cyclical unemployment are unavoidable; therefore, the economy is in full employment when frictional unemployment is zero.

What is real GDP in 2014 dollars if nominal GDP in 2014 is $15,000 billion, the GDP deflator in 2014 is 110, and the GDP deflator in 2010 was 100?

New entrants into the labor force constitute the largest segment of the unemployed.

The consumer price index measures the average change in prices paid by urban consumers and urban wage earners for a market basket of goods and services, covering roughly 87% of the population.

Which of the following persons is considered to be unemployed?

For the purposes of calculating the unemployment rate, part-time workers are not counted as employed.

Which of the following statements describes a difference between the consumer price index (CPI) and the producer price index (PPI)?

_____ unemployment includes workers who voluntarily quit their jobs to search for better positions.

Which type of unemployment do economists attempt to resolve using economic policy?

In the United States, people are counted as employed if they have a job but are having child-care problems.

Suppose an economist breaks the unemployment rate into the following components: frictional (2%), structural (1%), and cyclical (4%). Based on these estimates, the natural rate of unemployment is:

The goal of deflating a GDP series is to see how real output has changed.