Exam 15: Unemployment: Part B

The demand for labor by a certain firm is independent of the demand for that firm's product.

Some economists have argued that unemployment insurance improves the ability of the economy to match each worker with the most appropriate job.

Economists have found that union workers earn about 30 to 40 percent more than similar workers who do not belong to unions.

The unemployment that results from the quantity of labor supplied exceeding the quantity demanded is called structural unemployment.

Within the U.S.population,women of prime working age (ages 25-54)have higher rates of unemployment than men of prime working age (ages 25-54),regardless of race.

Within the U.S.population,blacks of prime working age (ages 25-54)have higher rates of unemployment than whites of prime working age (ages 25-54),regardless of gender.

The labor force minus the number of employed equals the number of unemployed.

Only paid workers are included in the Bureau of Labor Statistics' "employed" category.

Today,unions play a larger role in Europe than they do in the U.S.

Changes in the composition of demand among industries or regions are called sectoral shifts.

The normal rate of unemployment around which the unemployment rate fluctuates is called the natural rate of unemployment.

The process by which unions and firms agree on the terms of employment is called collective bargaining.

It is only among the least skilled and least experienced members of the labor force that minimum-wage laws cause unemployment.

Sectoral shifts temporarily cause unemployment.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines discouraged workers as marginally attached workers who have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job.

For 2015 the U.S.natural rate of unemployment was estimated to be about 4.9 percent,which was close to the actual unemployment rate in 2015.

Frictional unemployment is often thought to explain relatively long spells of unemployment.

Minimum wage laws help explain the natural rate of unemployment if they create a surplus in any labor market.

It is best to view the official unemployment rate as a useful but imperfect measure of joblessness.

Frictional unemployment is often the result of changes in the demand for labor among different firms.