Hawaiian Airlines will hire more workers as it expands its fleet. The new hirings are a welcome sign for Hawaii's economy, which lost jobs during the year to May 2009 as the state's unemployment rate rose from 4% to 7%.

The labor force was 602,000 in May 2009 and 622,600 in May 2008.

Calculate the change in the number unemployed between May 2008 and May 2009.

The number unemployed in May 2008 is

The answer is 24,904.

Explanation:

Solution

Given that:

Now,

The unemployment rate = (unemployment/labor force) * 100

Thus,

Unemployment = (unemployment/labor force) * 100

In May 2008, unemployment = (4 * 622,600) / 100 = 2,490,400/100

=24,904

In May 2009, unemployment = (7 * 602,000) / 100 = 4,214,00/100

=42,140

So,

Number of employed people = 2009 unemployment - 2008 unemployment = 42,140 - 24,904

=17,236

Therefore the of unemployed people in may 2008 is 24,904.