The type of unemployment (frictional, structural, or cyclical) the economy is experiencing tells government what types of policies might be most useful in solving the problem. So what type of unemployment are we experiencing now? Check out the current unemployment figures from theBureau of Labor Statistics(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf). (NOTE:This downloads a pdf.If it doesn't open immediately look for it in your download folder)

What's the current US unemployment rate? The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development defines full employment -- the unemployment rate when there is NO cyclical unemployment -- at 4% to 6%. Based on that, is the US experiencing cyclical unemployment? What kind of government policies would help reduce cyclical unemployment?

What percentage of the people who are unemployed have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more? Has this changed from the previous month? Based on this, is the US experiencing structural unemployment? What kind of government policies would help reduce structural unemployment?

What is our textbook's definition of frictional unemployment? How many people left their jobs last month ? How many have been unemployed for less than 5 weeks? Is the US experiencing frictional unemployment? What kind of government policies or programs would help reduce frictional unemployment?