From April 1 through October 31, Will County Highway Department hires temporary employees to mow and clean the right-of-way along county roads. The County Road Commissioner has asked you to help her in determining the variable labor cost of mowing and cleaning a mile of road. The following information is available regarding current-year operations:

MonthMiles Mowed and CleanedLabor CostsApril350$12,000May30011,250June40013,500July2508,250August37512,750September2007,500October1007,200

Use the information from the high- and low-volume months to develop a cost-estimating equation for monthly labor costs.

Monthly labor costs=5,100+21X

Plot the data on a scatter diagram. Using the information from representative high- and low volume months, use the high-low method to develop a cost-estimating equation for monthly labor costs.

Monthly labor costs=Answer+AnswerX

Adjust the equation developed in requirement (b) to incorporate the effect of an anticipated 7 percent increase in wages.

Monthly labor costs=Answer+32.1X