Question

1. Employment data. where does it come from and what context/ideas do we need to understand to use it meaningfully?

2. Measuring and comparing aggregate output. Measurement issues related to calculating and comparing GDP and related aggregate accounting concepts.

3. Using and interpreting the Aggregate Supply and Aggregate Demand Model. What are its limitations and caveats?

Answer 1

1.

Employment data is collected by specific division of department of labor, also named as BLS (Beauro of labor statistics) using monthly survey of households. This monthly survey is also known as current population survey that covers different aspects of the employment and labor force participation.

There are different context and ideas that we need to understand to better use of the data. The first context is the type of people who are considered employed and or unemployed and what are the definitions used to identify a person employed or unemployed. It will help us know whether the employment rate is overstated or understated. The second context is the size of the sample, method of sampling and type of employees considered to understand where the employment rate is based upon the sample, a true representative of the population. The third context is the application of discouraged worker data, part time employment data and marginal workers data to be use in unemployment rate calculation and determination of labor force. It will help us know the need of work to be done to calculate the more accurate unemployment rate. So, these are some of the contexts to be understood, to use the data in better ways.

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