ECONW6

Week 6 Guide to Obtaining Graphs for Data section

You need 5 data pieces in the data section:

1- GDP: a graph or a table that represents your 10-year period of GDP growth rate (percentage). To obtain GDP information, go to www.bea.gov then follow the steps below:

· Click on “ Tools” , found on the top left side, and select “Interactive Data”

· Click on “ Gross Domestic Product Personal Income ” found on the left side

· Click on “ Interactive Data Tables ” bottom found in the top middle

· Click on “ SECTION 1 – DOMESTIC PRODUCT AND INCOME ” and select the first option “ Table 1.1.1. Percent Change From Preceding Period in Real Gross Domestic Product ”

· Click on “ Modify ” button found on the top left side, change the First Year field to your desired start year, and change the Series to “ Annual” and click on “ Refresh Table”

You only need the information in the first line for each year (Line 1), which is the Gross Domestic Product as shown below. Copy and paste the data from Line 1 or screenshot the page (just like the image below) and paste it in your paper.

2- Unemployment: a graph or a table that represents your 10-year period of the overall unemployment rate (percentage) in the country.

See the “ Guide to using the BLS website Data ” below to obtain this data.

3- Two Unemployment Issues : data/graphs that represents your 10-year period about the two unemployment related issues that you have selected and will discuss in this paper. Provide one separate data set (graph or table) for each of the two issues.

See the “ Guide to using the BLS website Data ” below to obtain this data.

Guide to using the BLS website Data: for Unemployment Variables

1. Go to this link: https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?ln

2. Pick the variables you want. You can select more than one variable. For example, see screen shot below:

3. Click on “Retrieve Data” on the bottom left hand side as shown below:

4. You can then manipulate the data by changing output options, enter your ten-year period, such as “2006 to 2015” and then check the boxes “ include graphs” and “ include annual average”. Then, click on “ GO”

Your data will default to show the annual change based on a month, for example, series Id shown here is Unemployment Rate 16 years and over. The data is yearly from January 2006 up to January 2015, which will suffice for the case study.

Lastly, you may see that an accompanying table is provided for each graph of each variable, i.e., the table of the above graph is shown below the graph.

5. To copy and paste the graph in your paper, right click on the graph, then select “copy”, then past it in your paper.

IMPORTANT: make sure you cite the source of the graph (and any other graph and/or table you use) below the graph/table using APA citation style.

6. Now, you can use the data for the variables. Happy Hunting!

Revised 9/19/2024

Assignment Overview

A high unemployment rate in any economy is a symptom of dysfunctionality in the economy. People need income to be able to consume, and consumption leads to production, and production leads to a higher demand for labor (employment), so unemployment is a crucial macroeconomic issue that confronts all modern economies. A lower unemployment rate, however, is not the end of the problem. The type of employment and the price of labor (wages) must be sufficient for consumption (which is the major component of GDP) in the economy to be healthy. If wages are low or if the prices in the economy are high, consumption would be low and, thus, production and demand for labor would be low too. High unemployment rate, high part-time employment rate for economic reasons, low wages, and high inflation could have negative effects on economic growth.

Assignment Description

In this assignment, you need to identify two specific issues related to unemployment. You will study their past trends, provide an overview of their current status, and provide solutions to overcome them. You will use data from the past 10 years, articles, experts' opinions, and government reports to draw a clear picture of unemployment issues.

Some unemployment-related issues you might consider include the following.

· Unemployment rates for men

· Unemployment rates among African Americans

· Unemployment rates among Hispanics

· Unemployment rates among Whites

· Unemployment rates among Asians

· Unemployment rate among workers with high school diploma

· Unemployment rate among workers with less than a high school diploma

· Unemployment rate in the medical industry

· Unemployment rate in the high-tech industry

Your research needs to be structured with consistent and clear thoughts. It also needs to be supported by actual data. Your results need to be based on solid facts. Your conclusion and recommended solution need to be thorough and based on your findings and understanding of macroeconomic challenges and macroeconomic policies.

Writing Style (APA) and Page Number Requirements

· Document Type: Word

· Font Type (Choose one of the following, and use the same font consistently throughout the paper.):

1. Sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode

2. Serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or normal (10-point) Computer Modern (the default font for LaTeX)

· Spacing: Double

· Number of Pages: Four to seven pages, not counting the separate Title page and the separate References page

Structure and Requirements

Title Page (Required)

· Title of the paper

· Name of the author

· Email address of the author

· Class name

· Professor's name

· Date

Body of the Case Study Paper (Five Sections, Required)

There are five sections to this Case Study (Introduction, Data, Analysis, Reflection, Solution). You must have five section headings in your paper because each section has its own marks/points (review Case Study Rubric document).

Section 1: Introduction

The introduction needs to include the following.

· Include a clear definition of unemployment and who is counted as unemployed by economists and government agencies. Define inflation and what causes unemployment and inflation in the economy to increase.

· Briefly provide your understanding of the relationship between GDP growth and/or decline, high/low unemployment, and high/low inflation rates.

· Include a brief description of the two unemployment-related issues that you are going to address in this paper and their importance. Basically, why do you think they are important to research and resolve?

Section 2: Data

Obtain data from at least three credible sources (not Wikipedia). Use tables, graphs, and figures to support your argument. Sources must be cited. You can find the latest unemployment data at www.bls.gov (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

It is important to obtain your unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website. Follow the  Guide to Obtaining Graphs for Data Section (Attached) 

The Data section requires a total of four data pieces  (all pieces of data need to be for the past 10 years; a data piece could be a graph or a table):

· Two general data pieces: GDP growth rate and unemployment rate

· Two variable data pieces: Two specific unemployment rates based on your variable(s) (e.g., gender, race, education, etc.)

Data (graphs or tables) that must be provided in this section include the following:

Important: Review the Week 6 Guide to Obtaining Graphs for Data Section document for instructions for each of the following.

· GDP: Graph that represents the 10-year period of GDP growth rate (percentage). This information is already available on the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) website.

· Unemployment: Data that represents the 10-year period of unemployment rate (percentage), which could be obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) website

· Two Unemployment-related Issues: Data that represents the 10-year period about the two issues you are going to address. Provide one separate data set (graph or table) for each of the two issues, which could be obtained from the BLS website.

Section 3: Analysis

This section needs to contain the following discussions based on the data that was gathered and your understanding of unemployment and GDP.

· Unemployment: Discuss the trends of unemployment rates over the past 10 years and provide your objective analysis of the changes in unemployment rates and the current rates. Place extra emphasis on the periods where unemployment was either too high or too low. Also state the effect of the high and low rates on GDP.

· Two Unemployment-Related Issues: Discuss the two unemployment-related issues you selected. Provide an overview of their trends and use facts to highlight the major changes in their trends and their current statuses. State the reason(s) why you believe these two issues represent a challenge for the economy.

Section 4: Reflection and Critical Thinking

Connect all the dots together by relating your previous analysis to other areas in the macroeconomy. Basically, you will link changes in overall unemployment, the two unemployment-related issues you selected, and GDP to one another. Explain how periods of economic decline (recessions) and periods of economic growth (expansion) affected unemployment rates.

Section 5: Solution

· State which macroeconomic policy (monetary policy or fiscal policy) might resolve the issues you highlighted previously, and state how this policy could be implemented and why it would solve these problems.

· Finally, provide your own solution. Basically, answer the following question: What would you do to solve the macroeconomic issues you addressed if you were in charge of the U.S. economy? State why.

References List (Required)

Use at least three professional sources to support your argument. The references need to be in APA format for the in-text citations and the references list.