chapter 9: employment and unemployment

Which of these factors will not cause the demand curve for labor to shift?

A change in the wage

When the economy is at full employment, which types of unemployment remain?

Frictional and structural

Government policies can help to reduce the levels of frictional and structural unemployment, but they can also help to increase them. Which of these policies can cause an increase in the levels of frictional and structural unemployment?

Increasing the minimum wage

Out of the following people, who is not considered a potential worker?

Joe, who is currently serving a prison sentence for robbery

Which of these groups is included in the labor force?

The unemployed

What is the correct expression for calculating the unemployment rate?

Unemployment rate = 100% * [Unemployed/ (Employed+ Unemployed)]

If the minimum wage is set above the market-determined clearing wage, the __________.

Unemployment rate will be higher than it would be without a minimum wage

Let VMPL equal the value of the marginal product of labor and W equal the wage rate. When should a firm hire more workers to increase profit?

When VMPL > W

A change in which of these factors would cause a movement along the supply curve for labor rather than a shift of the labor supply curve?

a change in the wage

If the current wage is above the market clearing-wage, there is __________ in the labor market.

a surplus of labor

At full employment, __________.

cyclical unemployment is zero

The short-term unemployment that arises from workers, in the process of changing jobs, is called __________.

frictional unemployment

The "normal or natural" underlying level of unemployment in the economy is the __________.

full employment rate of unemployment

As technology improves, the demand for labor curve:

shifts to the right

As the population increases, the labor supply curve:

shifts to the right

As the price of the final product increases, the demand for labor curve:

shifts to the right

The natural rate of unemployment is the __________.

unemployment rate that results when the economy produces the potential level of real GDP

Which of these persons is officially unemployed?

A non-working individual who has looked for a job in the past week

If the labor demand is unchanged, an increase in the labor supply will __________ the equilibrium wage and __________ the number of workers employed.

decrease, increase

As the number of workers increases, the marginal product of labor __________ and the marginal revenue product of labor __________.

decreases, decreases

Which of these factors can cause the natural rate of unemployment to change?

demographic changes

As the wage increases, the demand for labor curve:

does not shift, but the quantity demanded for labor decreases

The US data on the unemployment rate since 1948 shows that the unemployment rate tends to ________during_________

increase; recessions

Unemployment arising from a persistent mismatch between the skills and characteristics of workers and job requirements is called __________.

structural unemployment

Increases in the minimum wage will increase __________.

teenage unemployment

Which of the following is the equivalent of the demand curve for labor?

the value of the marginal product of labor

What is the correct expression for calculating the Labor Force Participation Rate?

Labor Force Participation Rate = 100% * [(Employed+ Unemployed)/Potential Workers]

Suppose you are available for work but have not looked for a job for at least the last four weeks because you believe that no jobs are available. You would then be counted as __________.

a discouraged worker