1. Has the U.S. economy achieved full employment equilibrium yet? Explain how we define ‘full employment’ and how you can
tell whether or not that goal has been achieved. Use appropriate data to support your answer (see below). Be sure to cite
the sources of your data in your essay.
Use the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ estimate of the Natural Rate of Unemployment (short-term) at
http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/NROUST Drag your cursor across the graph to find the estimate of the natural
rate of unemployment for the first quarter of 2015 (2015 Q1). (The graph shows estimates of the natural rate from 1950 to
2024).
Use the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (bls.gov) to find the most recent estimate of the actual unemployment rate.
2. Read the Introduction (first five pages) of the article “A Search and Matching Approach to Labor Markets: Did the
Natural Rate of Unemployment Rise?” by Mary C. Daly, Bart Hobijn, Aysegul Sahin, and Robert G. Vallet. How does this
article explain the pattern in the Natural Rate of Unemployment graph from 2007 to 2012?
Your essay should not exceed 1200 words.
pay attention to the four parts:Topic sentence consistency, Autor’s argument summary, Topic sentence is supported with
examples from reading and writing