Predictions of inflation, unemployment, and RGDP
Go to the website: www.bls.gov at
(ftp://ftp.bls.gov/pub/special.requests/cpi/cpiai.txt) and
(http://stats.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat1.pdf) and www.bea.gov at
http://www.bea.gov/bea/dn/gdplev.xls and collect the data on annual average
data on CPI index, unemployment rates and real GDP from year 2001 through 2005.
The first two url links from bls.gov will provide you the data for CPI index
and unemployment rate. The url from www.bea.gov will provide the RGDP data.
Illustrate them in a table against the last five years and respond to the
following two questions:
a. Calculate the changes in inflation rates, unemployment
rates and the RGDP growth rates for the years from Year 2001 through 2005 and
illustrate them in a new column at the end of the table of data.
b. Based on those calculations, briefly describe the overall
economic performance over the last five years and critically predict about
these three macroeconomic variables for the coming years.
