fuck you econ

Employed

Individuals who worked for pay in the last week or were on temporary leave (vacation/illness).

Unemployed

People who do not have a job, are currently available for work, and have actively looked for work in the prior four weeks.

Labor Force

The total number of available workers in an economy, calculated as the sum of the employed and the unemployed.

Not in the Labor Force

Individuals who are neither employed nor unemployed, such as full time students, retirees, or those who have stopped looking for work.

Labor Force Participation Rate

The percentage of the adult population (16+) that is in the labor force: (Labor Force / Adult Population) x 100.

Unemployment Rate

The percentage of the labor force that is unemployed: (Unemployed / Labor Force) x 100.

Marginally Attached Workers

People who want to work and have looked in the past year, but not in the last 4 weeks; they are not counted as unemployed.

Discouraged Workers

Individuals who would like to work but have given up looking because they believe no jobs are available; a subset of marginally attached workers.

Underemployed

People working part time who want full time work, or those working in jobs below their skill/education level.

Frictional Unemployment

Temporary unemployment occurring when workers are between jobs or searching for their first job ("search unemployment").

Structural Unemployment

Unemployment resulting from a mismatch between worker skills and job requirements, or when wages are kept above equilibrium.

Cyclical Unemployment

Unemployment caused by downturns in the business cycle (recessions).

Natural Rate of Unemployment

The normal rate of unemployment consisting of Frictional + Structural unemployment.

Full Employment

An economic state where cyclical unemployment is zero and the economy is at its natural rate.

Efficiency Wages

Above equilibrium wages paid by firms to increase worker productivity and reduce turnover.

Poverty

A condition where a person or community lacks the financial resources for a minimum standard of living.

Poverty Threshold

The specific dollar amount used by the government to determine if a household is officially in poverty.

Income Distribution

How a nation's total income is spread across its population.

Income Inequality

The gap between the highest and lowest earners in an economy.

Lorenz Curve

A graph showing the cumulative percentage of income vs. the cumulative percentage of households; measures inequality.

Line of Equality

The 45 degree diagonal line on a Lorenz Curve representing perfect income equality.

Price Stability

A condition where the general price level remains steady over time with low or zero inflation.

Purchasing Power

The real quantity of goods and services that a unit of money can buy.

Inflation

A rising general level of prices in the economy; "too much money chasing too few goods."

Hyperinflation

Extremely high, out of control inflation (e.g., thousands of percent per year).

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

A measure of the weighted average of prices of a "market basket" of consumer goods and services.

Market Basket

A representative collection of ~200 categories of goods/services used to track price changes over time.

Base Year

The reference year used for price comparisons (U.S. currently uses 1982 to 1984 as the base period).

Producer Price Index (PPI)

Measures price changes from the perspective of the seller/producer (raw materials).

Demand Pull Inflation

Inflation caused by demand exceeding production capacity.

Cost Push Inflation

Inflation caused by rising production costs (e.g., wages, oil) forcing prices up.

Shoe Leather Costs

The time and effort people spend trying to avoid holding money during high inflation.

Menu Costs

The literal costs businesses incur to update their posted prices.

Unit of Account Costs

The cost of inflation making money a less reliable measurement of value over time.

Purchasing Power Parity (PPP)

A technique used to determine the relative value of currencies based on what they can buy in different countries.

The Big Mac Index

An informal example of PPP comparing the price of a Big Mac across different nations.