Refer to the following table to answer the following questions.

Table 7.1: U.S. Employment Status (in thousands)

2010

2015

Civilian noninstitutionalized population
237,829

250,801

Population
309,761

321,601

Unemployed
14,808

8,287

Employed
139,064

148,833

Not in labor force
89,957

93,681

Consider Table 7.1. In 2010, the labor force participation rate was ______ percent.

Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent.

Question

Refer to the following table to answer the following questions.

Table 7.1: U.S. Employment Status (in thousands)

2010
	
2015

Civilian noninstitutionalized population	
237,829
	
250,801

Population	
309,761
	
321,601

Unemployed	
14,808
	
8,287

Employed	
139,064
	
148,833

Not in labor force	
89,957
	
 93,681

Consider Table 7.1. In 2010, the labor force participation rate was ______ percent.

Round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent.

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The question asks for the labor force participation rate in 2010 using Table 7.1. 
First, identify the relevant figures: the labor force consists of those employed plus those unemployed, and the population used for the rate is the civilian noninstitutionalized population.
Option 1 (and the general approach) is to compute the labor force: Employed in 2010 = 139,064 thousand; Unemployed in 2010 = 14,808 thousand. Adding them gives the labor force = 139,064 + 14,808 = 153,872 thousand.
Next, note the civilian noninstitutionalized population in 2010: 237,829 thousand.
Now, form the ratio: labor force participation rate = (labor force) / (civilian noninstitutionalized population) = 153,872 / 237,829.
To approximate, 237,829 × 0.65 ≈ 154,639, which is slightly above 153,872, suggesting a rate just under 0.65. Calculating more precisely, 153,872 ÷ 237,829 ≈ 0.6476.
Converting to a percentage, 0.6476 × 100 ≈ 64.76%, which rounds to 64.8% when rounded to one decimal place.
Therefore, the labor force participation rate for 2010 is about 64.8%, not 68.8%.

If someone reports 68.8%, that would imply either a different denominator (for example, using the total population rather than civilian noninstitutionalized population) or a misreading of the table values. However, with the standard definition and the numbers provided in Table 7.1, the correct calculation yields roughly 64.8%.

Summary of calculations for transparency:
- Labor force = 139,064 (employed) + 14,808 (unemployed) = 153,872 thousand
- Population (denominator) = 237,829 thousand
- Participation rate = 153,872 / 237,829 ≈ 0.6476 ≈ 64.8%

FA25 ECON 302 002 Midterm Exam #3 (Chapters 7-9): Sample Questions

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