Go to the St. Louis Federal Reserve FRED database, and find data on recession dating (USREC), the unemployment rate (UNRATE), nonfarm payroll employment (PAYEMS), and the mean duration of unemployment (UEMPMEAN).

a) Using the recession dating series (USREC), when did the most recent recession begin and end? (Use the “monthly” setting for frequency, and report the recession dates by year and month.)

b) Calculate the total percentage point change in the unemployment rate from the first month of the recession until the last month of the recession, and the total percentage point change in the unemployment rate from the first month after the end of the recession until the most recent month available. Is the unemployment rate a procyclical, countercyclical, or acyclical variable?

c) Using (PAYEMS), calculate the total net gain or loss in jobs for the recessionary period and for the period after the recession until the most recent data available. Is nonfarm payroll employment a procyclical, countercyclical, or acyclical variable?

d) Based on the dates of the most recent recession, determine the value and date near the beginning of the recession when (UEMPMEAN) began rising, and determine the value and date after the end of the recession when it was at its highest level. Based on your results, is the average duration of unemployment (average length, in weeks, of unemployment) procyclical, countercyclical, or acyclical? Is it a leading, lagging, or coincident variable?