Worked-example setupScope and assumptions
- All fictional counts use the same survey definitions, population, age boundary, reference period, and seasonal convention.
- Period
- One fictional reference month
- Units
- thousands of people and unit-free rates
- Rounding
- Exact for supplied values; percentages to one decimal point when displayed
Start with the population-state reconciliation:
labor force = 120 employed + 5 unemployed = 125
outside labor force = 200 - 125 = 75
unemployment rate = 5 / 125 = 4.0%
participation rate = 125 / 200 = 62.5%
employment-population ratio = 120 / 200 = 60.0%
Dividing five by 200 would not produce the unemployment rate; it would mix the unemployed numerator with the participation population denominator. A lower unemployment rate next month would not prove employment rose without the three population-state levels.
The table still omits hours, earnings, involuntary part time, duration, job quality, demographic composition, and sampling uncertainty. Correct arithmetic is the beginning of labor-market interpretation, not the whole analysis.
Verified calculation · economics foundations analysis
The curriculum loader recomputed this example before it entered the site build. Expand any structured input to inspect the stated facts.
- labor markets
- 1 field
Inspect data
{
"cedar_labor": {
"civilian_noninstitutional_population": 200,
"employed": 120,
"unemployed": 5
}
}Recomputed result
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| employment population ratio | 0.6 |
| labor force | 125 |
| labor force participation rate | 0.625 |
| not in labor force | 75 |
| unemployment rate | 0.04 |