Question

11. In one year you meet 52 people who are each unemployed for one week (and one week only), and seven people who are each unemployed for the whole year. Each person who was unemployed for only one week was not unemployed during the same week as any other person who was unemployed for only one week. What percent of the unemployed people that you meet during the year are short-term unemployed?

A. 11.9% B. 13.5% C. 86.5% D. 87.5% E. 88.1%

12. In one year you meet 52 people who are each unemployed for one week (and one week only), and seven people who are each unemployed for the whole year. Each person who was unemployed for only one week was not unemployed during the same week as any other person who was unemployed for only one week. In week 40, you meet all of the people that are unemployed that week. What percent of the unemployed people that you met in the 40th week were long-term unemployed?

A. 11.9% B. 13.5% C. 86.5% D. 87.5% E. 88.1%

13. Suppose Boris is a person that you know nothing about except for his employment status. If you were told that that Boris had just become unemployed, your best guess (as an intelligent economics student) would be that Boris will be unemployed for a

A. long time, and that most of the unemployed that he has joined have been unemployed for a long time.

B. long time, even though most of the unemployed that he has joined have been unemployed for a short time.

C. short time, and that most of the unemployed that he has joined have been unemployed for a short time.

D. short time, even though most of unemployed that he has joined have been unemployed for a long time.

Answer 1

11) E) 88.1%

I met 59 people in the year ( 52 who are unemployed for 1 week only and 7 who are unemployed for the whole year)

1 week unemployment will be refered to as short term unemployment (also called frictional unemployment)

Percentage of short term unemployed people = 52/59 x 100 = 88.1%

12) D) 87.5%

I met 8 unemployed people in the 40th week. The 7 people i met who have been unemployed for the whole year would be considered as long term unemployed

Percentage of long term unemployed people = 7/8 x 100 = 87.5%

13) D. short time, even though most of unemployed that he has joined have been unemployed for a long time.

Most of the unemployment is part of the frictional unemployment in which people are unemployed during a time period in which they are shifting jobs. In my best guess Boris would be part of the same group but frictional unemployment holds a minority part in the overall unemployed people.