Econ 422 Research Project 1 Use these reports to answer the questions below. GDP: https://www.bea.gov/data/gdp/gross-domestic-product Weekly Claims for Unemployment Insurance: https://oui.doleta.gov/unemploy/DataDashboard.asp Employment Situation Summary: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm ADP National Employment Report: https://adpemploymentreport.com/ In this project you will develop and demonstrate competence in identifying sources, collecting appropriate data, and analyzing it to evaluate the health of the overall economy. By the due date, upload into Canvas this Word file with answers typed in red font along with the specific pages of the report used and pertinent information highlighted. Always use the most recent report and seasonally adjusted data unless otherwise specified. Make sure to state the correct denominations including all respective zeros in your answers (e.g., 125,000 thousand should be written 125,000,000). Utilize only the reports reviewed in lecture and the Economic Indicator's Text. Utilized actual data sources (e.g., BEA, BLS, Census, etc.), not compilation sites (e.g., FRED, Trading Economics, etc.) 1. Using the most recent GDP Report determine the following: a. Value of real GDP for the most recent quarter available (not annualized). b. Percent quarterly growth rate of real GDP from the prior quarter to the most recent quarter (not annualized and rounded to a whole percent). c. Percent composition of the most recent quarter's real personal consumption with respect to durables, non-durables, and services (round each to whole percent). d. dollar change in real private inventory investment for the most recent quarter. e. Dollar value of the most recent Net Exports using 2012 prices. Is there a trade surplus or deficit? 2. Using the most recent seasonally adjusted Weekly Claims for Unemployment Report determine the following: a. How many people applied for unemployment compensation in the most recent week? b. How does this number compare to the prior week and prior year? c. How many people were collecting unemployment in the most recent week? d. What percentage of those in covered employment were collecting unemployment in the most recent week? How does this compare to the prior year? Is this a good or bad sign?

3. Using the most recent Employment Situation Report determine the following: a. Seasonally adjusted number of employed, unemployed, and civilian labor force (not percentage but a count of people in correct denominations)? b. Average wage and average number of hours worked. c. Percent change in average wage and number of hours worked from the prior month. d. Based on this c above, is part-time employment increasing or decreasing and are there surpluses of shortages of labor in the market? e. Which age, race, and education category had the highest and lowest unemployment rates and labor force participation rates? f. Compare the overall unemployment rate (U-3) to the broader measurement (U-6). Is there a difference, explain? Which is a better representation of the labor conditions for ordinary people? 4. Using the most recent ADP Report determine the following: a. How many jobs were created in the most recent month? b. How does this number compare with that found via the Establishment Survey? Why might they be different (make sure to compare the same month)? c. What business size witnessed the greatest amount of job gains (or least amount of job losses) and what were the numbers? d. What sub-sector, or sub-sub-sector, of goods or services witnessed job losses? How many? e. What makes the ADP report important when compared to the Employment Situation Summary?