Unemployment Flashcards
7 cards from real AP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Unemployment flashcards as text
Which of the following workers would be classified as structurally unemployed?
Answer: A coal miner whose job was eliminated by automation
Structural unemployment occurs when workers' skills no longer match available jobs due to technological or industrial change.
If the natural rate of unemployment is 4% and actual unemployment is 7%, the economy is experiencing:
Answer: A negative output gap
Unemployment above the natural rate means output is below potential, creating a negative (recessionary) output gap.
Which policy would MOST directly reduce frictional unemployment?
Answer: Improving job-matching websites and career counseling services
Better job-matching resources reduce the time workers spend searching between jobs, directly lowering frictional unemployment.
A person who has given up looking for work is called:
Answer: A discouraged worker
Discouraged workers have stopped actively seeking employment and are excluded from the official unemployment rate.
Which statement about the unemployment rate is most accurate?
Answer: It may understate true joblessness by excluding discouraged workers
The official rate excludes discouraged workers and underemployed part-timers, likely understating the full extent of labor underutilization.
Which of the following best describes the relationship between unemployment and inflation according to the short-run Phillips curve?
Answer: There is an inverse trade-off between them
The short-run Phillips curve shows an inverse relationship: lower unemployment is associated with higher inflation.
An economy has 150 million in the labor force and 9 million unemployed. What is the unemployment rate?
Answer: 6%
Unemployment rate = (unemployed ÷ labor force) × 100 = (9 ÷ 150) × 100 = 6%.