According to the Office of Personnel Management

(www.OPM.gov), in 2015 the average hourly wage rate for federal employees was slightly higher than $43.

The file titled Paychecks contains a random sample of the hourly amounts paid to state and local government workers.

a. Generate the margin of error for estimating the average hourly amounts paid to state and local government workers with a 98% confidence level.

b. Determine the sample size required to produce a margin of error equal to 1.40 with a confidence level of 98%. Assume the population standard deviation equals 6.22.

c. Does it appear that state and local government workers have a lower average hourly compensation than federal workers? Support your opinion.