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.