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Economic growth when unemployment is low

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This is a practice: in which every source will be cited. Thank
I need this as a starter for a much much broader paper. I need help in getting started, Thanks. I've just recently had shoulder injury and I've fallen behind. I intend to use this as a starting point to a larger project. Thus I need all sources includeed and the OTA will be cited as well. Thanks

Go to the web site of the Bureau of Labor Statistics at http://www.bls.gov/ and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (National Economic Accounts) at http://www.bea.gov/national/ or any other data source and collect the most recent 6 months of data on real GDP growth, inflation, and unemployment. Based on this information, write a 3 page analysis (double-spaced in A.P.A. format, with a font size of 12 Times New Roman), of where the economy currently is in the business cycle and the implications for a Monopolistically Competitive firm in terms of prospects for higher sales and labor costs. Support your conclusions with data from the BLS.
All references must be carefully cited (Wikipedia not allowed as reference sources Please!!)

In this practice, you must analyze the data in detail to show what would happen when the economy is growing and unemployment is low. ( For example , show the effects on sales, the costs associated with the effect on sales, etc. for monopolistically competitive firms ).

On the other hand, you must also analyze in detail the effects of higher unemployment during a business cycle downturn. (As for example this may mean lower labor costs when adding employees, but lower demand as a result of falling incomes,...etc). Relate your analysis to monopolistically competitive firms )

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Assistance with starting economics research project

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References are generally expected to be peer-reviewed literature or authoritative web sites, such as the BEA. So, it would probably not be appropriate to cite OTAs. Note that per BrainMass policy I cannot compile the paper for you. However, I have found the data you need and analyzed it, which should save you a lot of time in research. After composing your rough draft, if you are not satisfied, I will be happy to give you additional guidance (no cost). Simply send your draft when you leave feedback for this posting and I'll get back to you with right away.

The GDP data can be found here:
http://www.bea.gov/national/nipaweb/TableView.asp?SelectedTable=5&FirstYear=2008&LastYear=2009&Freq=Qtr
GDP for the current quarter is not yet out, so let's compare the third quarter of 2008 with the first quarter of 2009.
At the end of the third quarter of 2008 GDP was 14,412.8 billion dollars. For the last quarter of 2009, it was 14,089.7 billion. This gives us a difference of 323.1 billion, and we can find the growth rate by dividing this by 14,412.8, which yields -2.24%. Note that it's negative because GDP declined during this time frame.

For unemployment data, see the BLS website (http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?data_tool=latest_numbers&series_id=LNS14000000). Here you can see that unemployment in May 2009 was 9.4% while in December it was 7.2%. For inflation data, see http://data.bls.gov/PDQ/servlet/SurveyOutputServlet?series_id=CUSR0000SA0&data_tool=XGtable. Here we can see that the CPI for April 2009 was 212.671, while for November 2008 it was 213.263. This gives us a difference of 0.592 and a percent change of .28%. Over the course of a year, such an inflation rate would make prices increase about .6%. Notice however that prices have changed very little since the end of 2007.

References for these web sites (assuming MLA format) would be:

"Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumer." Bureau of Labor Statistics. " 15 June 2009. ...

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