After you have studied Economics in the News on pp. 572–573, answer the following questions.

a. How did the unemployment rate change during the Covid recession?

b. Which measure of unemployment, U-3 or U-6, was measured incorrectly because of a classification error?

c. What was the classification error and did it understate or overstate the unemployment rate?

d. Classified by sex, race, and education, who experienced the highest unemployment rate and why?

e. Classified by sex, race, and education, who experienced the lowest unemployment rate and why?

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How high was the unemployment rate in April and May 2020? The unemployment rate is the number of people unem- ployed as a percentage of the labor force, and the labor force is the number of people employed plus the number unemployed. People are counted as employed if they are not working but have jobs from which they are temporarily absent. People are counted as unemployed if they are waiting to be recalled to jobs from which they have been laid off. The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Busi- ness Cycle Dating Committee determined that the U.S. economy went into recession in February 2020 before the unemployment rate started to rise. By April 2020, the unemployment rate was rising sharply, Unemployment rate (percentage of labor force) 25 20 150 10 5 . Covid-19 recession begins Classification U-6 error 0. 2019-Q4 Year/quarter Figure 1 The Unemployment Problem 2020-Q1 U-3 2020-Q2