Question 4.75

4.75 Unemployment rates.

As noted in Example 4.18 (page 197), in the language of government statistics, you are “in the labor force” if you are available for work and either working or actively seeking work. The unemployment rate is the proportion of the labor force (not of the entire population) who are unemployed. Based on the table given in Example 4.18, find the unemployment rate for people with each gender. How does the unemployment rate change with gender? Explain carefully why your results suggest that gender and being employed are not independent.

4.75

For men: 7.64%. For women: 7.08%. Because the two unemployment rates are not equal, gender and being employed are not independent. In other words, if you are a man, you are a little more likely (7.64% versus 7.08%) to be unemployed than if you are a woman.