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Economy Matters

Working It

Economists at the Atlanta Fed scrutinize the labor market for hints of changes, patterns, and anything else that might offer clues about forces shaping the employment sector. This quiz tests your knowledge of the U.S. labor market.

Sources: Question 1; Question 2; Question 3; Question 4; Question 5; Question 6; Question 7; Question 8; Question 9; Question 10

Read more: Seeing the Workforce through the Lens of Economics

1. How many measures of unemployment does the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offer?
One
Six
Twelve
2. Women made up 34 percent of the labor force in 1950. What share of the labor force did women make up in 2015?
37 percent
47 percent
57 percent
3. The Federal Reserve seeks which level of employment in the economy?
Resilient employment
Maximum employment
Stable employment
4. Wisconsin was the first state to implement unemployment compensation. What was the first year it offered the program to workers?
1924
1934
1944
5. Which Atlanta Fed data tool, nicknamed for an arachnid, allows monitoring of broad labor market developments by comparing current conditions to those in other time periods?
Spider chart
Scorpion chart
Tick chart
6. If the unemployment rate becomes low enough, which economic result do economists generally anticipate?
Deflation
Inflation
No resulting change
7. True or false: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics defines full-time employment as 40 hours or more per week.
True
False
8. In 2016, 15.8 million people worked in retail in the United States. Does the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predict that figure will rise or fall by 2026?
Rise
Fall
9. What was the median age of the U.S. labor force in 2017?
32
42
52
10. What share of the U.S. labor force is self-employed?
10 percent
15 percent
20 percent