Job-sharing is an innovative employment alternative that originated in Sweden and is becoming very popular in the United States. Firms that offer job-sharing plans allow two or more persons to work part-time, sharing one full-time job. For example, two job-sharers might alternate work weeks, with one working while the other is off. Job-sharers never work at the same time and may not even know each other. Job-sharing is particularly attractive to working mothers and to people who frequently lose their jobs due to fluctuations in the economy. In a survey of 1,035 major US. firms, approximately 22% offer job-sharing to their employees (Entrepreneur, Mar. 1995).

a. Identify the population from which the sample was selected.

b. Identify the variable measured.

c. Identify the sample selected.

d. What type of inference is of interest to the government agency?