1. Unit: Hectic January Day 1
What will we learn today? Labor unions, procedures, benefits for their members, effects of unionizations, the minimum wages, and unemployment insurance.
Explain the effects of international mobility of capital and labor on the U.S. economy.
Significance of unemployment rate, new jobs created monthly, inflation and deflation, and rate of economic growth.
Anyone have extra credit packets completed? Now or never.
Unit: Hectic January
Day 1
On your calendar or planner, add or highlight the following information:
January 14: Econ Song Due / Presentations (video highly suggested)
January 19: No more extra credit
January 21: Finals Review Day 1
January 25: Finals Review Day 2
January 27: FINAL

2. Assignment __: Super Notes #1

3. Microeconomics vs. Macroeconomics
Micro = small (like personal finance, jobs, etc.)
Macro = big, huge, country or world wide
Today we’re going to talk about macroeconomics.

4. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
One of the most important measures of “how strong” a country is economically is GDP.
GDP is the dollar value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year.
The US has the world’s strongest (highest) GDP.
Example: Cars built inside the United States would count towards our GDP.

11. Business Cycles
A business cycle is a period of macroeconomic expansion (good times!) followed by a period of macroeconomic contraction (bad times).
Business cycles last an average of 4 years, but they can be shorter or longer.
Down periods are normal, but you want to look out for recessions and depressions.
Three things that affect the business cycle:
Interest rates
External events
Business investment levels

12. The Business Cycle

13. The Great Depression
The Great Depression during the 1930s was the most significant economic downturn in the history of industrial capitalism.

14. Unemployment
No matter how strong an economy is, some people will always be unemployed.
In a great economy, unemployment will still be at 4-6%. That’s considered awesome.
Today’s unemployment rate: 10% nationwide. 12% in CA.
During the Great Depression: 25%

15. Seasonal and Structural Unemployment
Seasonal unemployment: people lose their jobs because of harvest schedules, or industries slow down or shut down.
Structural unemployment: people lose their job because their skills do not match the jobs available
Today in the US, there are much more service jobs and much less manufacturing jobs (outsourcing).

16. Underemployment
Underemployment is when someone is working at a job for which they are overqualified, or working part-time when they would rather be working full-time.
If you have a job right now, you might feel underemployed.
A lot of Americans who were laid off from their jobs this past year have taken crappy work. They aren’t reported in the unemployed statistics, but they are underemployed.

17. Take out your clickers

18. 1. Products that would be used in calculating the U.S. GDP include
a. toys manufactured in China at a factory owned by a U.S. company.
b. cars manufactured in Tennessee at a factory owned by a Japanese automobile company.
c. plastic manufactured in a factory in Kentucky and sold to toy manufacturers around the world to make plastic toys.
d. cotton cloth manufactured in India and sold to clothes makers in the United States.

19. 2. The main economic variables that affect business cycles include all of the following EXCEPT
a. interest rates b. personal savings levels c. external events d. business investment levels

20. 3. An accurate statement about the Great Depression would be that
a. it was a recession that became a depression because of World War II.
b. it was set off because of a sharp and unexpected rise in interest rates.
c. it was the most severe economic downturn in the history of industrial capitalism.
d. its effects and duration would have been even worse if it weren’t for a strong economy in Japan and Europe at the time.

21. 4. The lowest point in an economic contraction is called
a. peak.
b. recession.
c. trough.
d. depression.

22. 5. What is the difference between seasonal unemployment and structural unemployment?
a. Seasonal unemployment occurs because of schedules, whereas structural occurs because people lack skills. b. Seasonal unemployment is rare in a modern society, whereas structural is not. c. Seasonal unemployment occurs only in the summer, whereas structural can occur all year round. d. Seasonal unemployment is generally among low-paid workers, whereas structural is among the highly paid.

23. 6. When the economy is working properly, what is the unemployment rate?
a. 0 to 3 percent
b. 4 to 6 percent
c. 8 to 10 percent
d. 10 to 12 percent

24. 7. What does it mean when a person is underemployed?
a. The person has been working but now is laid off.
b. The person is looking for work in a special field.
c. The person is not making as much money as they need.
d. The person has a job but they are overqualified for it.

25. 8. Current labor market trends include
a. an increase in the number of people not counted in employment statistics.
b. an increase in demand for low-skilled American labor.
c. an increase in service jobs accompanied by a decrease in manufacturing jobs.
d. an increase in the number of employed people worldwide

26. The Econ Song
Take a information from a chapter of the book and convert the information into the beat of your favorite song.
You are basically re-teaching your assigned chapter, so you need to be informative. That being said: have fun with this and be comfortable!
The basics: - groups no bigger than two or three (people absent on presentation day affect your grade)
- choose your chapter from a list provided by me
- figure out what song you want to use
- take a look at your chapter and start turning the info into notes / song
- presentation works best in video form, but I’m willing to accept live performances
- anything inappropriate or use of bad language will result in an F on the project. Seriously.

27. Econ Song: Today’s Goals
Take a look at your assigned chapter.
Write down all the vocabulary from your chapter. You may paraphrase or write in your own words, but you need to write all of it.
Answer questions 1 – 4 on all of the Section Assessment questions. Example: if your chapter has 4 sections, you have 16 questions to answer.
Break up the work amongst your group evenly, then place it all together in a packet.