The official unemployment rate is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, it does not provide a fully accurate measure of the current conditions of the labor market. We've learned that both high and low unemployment rates can be misleading.

How does the U.S. government officially measure employment and unemployment in the economy?

Why does the official unemployment rate likely underestimate the actual level of unemployment in the economy?

What are some possible impacts of the current shortcomings of the unemployment rate?

Fifty years ago, the minimum wage in a hypothetical country was approximately $1.50 per hour. At that time, a family with two adults and two children could live in that country for about $50 per week for food and necessities. Fifty years later, the minimum wage in that country is about $8.00 per hour and the cost of living has gone up to approximately $500 per week for an equivalent family of four.

How many hours per week would someone have to work to pay for food and necessities for a family with two adults and two children fifty years ago in this hypothetical country?

How many hours per week would someone have to work to pay for food and necessities for a family with two adults and two children fifty years later in this hypothetical country?

Has the country experienced inflation or deflation?

What likely changes have happened in this hypothetical country's economy to cause this outcome?