Focus on Employment Changes Across Educational Attainment Groups

This assignment provides instructions on building the graph below and includes writing prompts for out-of-class assignments.

Using GeoFRED® to Compare Educational Attainment and Unemployment Rates

This assignment provides instructions on creating the maps below and suggests prompts for in-class discussion. See how you do on our sample discussion question below.

Click on the map above to view an interactive version.

Again, click on the map above to view an interactive version
Question: Compare both maps. What differences or similarities do you see between educational attainment and unemployment across geographical areas in the U.S.?

Learning About the Economics of Education to Forecast Changes in Payroll Employment

In December 2020, the total number of workers on payrolls decreased. Read on for more details and a list of resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster.

BLS Headline:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 140,000 in December (2020).”

The Economics Daily:

“In 2018, 31 percent of Blacks in the labor force had earned a bachelor’s degree and higher, compared with 16 percent in 1992”
https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2019/rising-educational-attainment-among-blacks-or-african-americans-in-the-labor-force-1992-to-2018.htm

Resources to become a better FREDcast forecaster:

• Page One Economics: “Education, Income, and Wealth“
• Economic Synopses: “Location and the Return to Education“
• Economic Synopses: “The Effects of Education on Health“
• Page One Economics®: “Get an Education, Even if It Means Borrowing“

Quiz Yourself on the Economics of Education

Q1. As of the second quarter of 2020, which population group had the second-highest median weekly income level?

Q2. As of the second quarter of 2020, which population group had the lowest median weekly income level?

Q1. As of November 2020, which population group had the lowest participation rate in the civilian labor force?

Q2. As of November 2020, which population group had the highest participation rate in the civilian labor force?

Q1. Between 2000 and 2020, which population groups had the most constant unemployment rates?

Q2. Between 2000 and 2020, which population groups experienced the largest changes in unemployment rates?

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