Table 28-4

The following data is about the labor market in the city of Productionville.

Wage

(Dollars per hour)


Quantity Demanded

(Units)


Quantity Supplied

(Units)
8 6,000 16,000
7 9,000 14,000
6 12,000 12,000
5 15,000 10,000
4 18,000 8,000

Refer to Table 28-4. If the local government imposed a minimum wage of $7 in Productionville, how many people would be unemployed?
a. 10,000
b. 2,000
c. 0
d. 5,000

1 answer

To determine how many people would be unemployed if the local government imposed a minimum wage of $7 in Productionville, we need to analyze the quantity demanded and quantity supplied at that wage.

According to the table:

  • At a wage of $7:
    • Quantity Demanded = 9,000 units
    • Quantity Supplied = 14,000 units

When a minimum wage is set at $7, the quantity supplied (14,000) exceeds the quantity demanded (9,000). Unemployment can be calculated by finding the difference between the quantity supplied and the quantity demanded:

Unemployment = Quantity Supplied - Quantity Demanded
Unemployment = 14,000 - 9,000
Unemployment = 5,000

Therefore, if the local government imposed a minimum wage of $7, there would be 5,000 people unemployed.

The answer is d. 5,000.